Crowden (United Kingdom)

Crowden was a British automobile manufacturer active from 1898 to 1901, founded by Charles T. Crowden in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Prior to establishing his own company, Crowden served as the works manager for the Great Horseless Carriage Company in Coventry, where he gained valuable experience in the burgeoning automotive industry.

The vehicles produced by Crowden were primarily experimental in nature, and the company did not achieve commercial production of its cars. However, Crowden did manage to sell a few fire engines, which were conversions of traditional horse-drawn appliances to steam power. Among his notable creations was a steam brake and a 10 horsepower petrol-engined dog-cart, designed to evaluate the advantages of both steam and petrol power systems.

In 1900, Crowden developed another petrol-powered vehicle featuring a 5 horsepower single-cylinder horizontal engine, which utilized a belt and pulley drive system with three speeds. This particular car is preserved and can be found in the Museum of British Road Transport in Coventry. Additionally, Crowden supplied a steam fire engine to the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Company in Worcester and a petrol-engined fire engine to the local fire brigade in Leamington Spa in 1902.

After 1904, Charles Crowden retired to Ramsgate, Kent, marking the end of his involvement in the automotive industry.