Monument record 1160/352/1 - 46-50 Sheep Street (formerly The Douglas Garage)

The Douglas Garage Ltd was founded in 1919. The garage moved to this location in 1928 having originally been based at 37 Sheep Street, on the other side of the road. It has now been demolished.

{1} Mr W. E. Douglas founded the Douglas Garage Ltd in 1919. The garage moved to this location in 1928 having originally been based at 37 Sheep Street, on the other side of the road. In 1930 the company became distributers for Standard Cars, a relationship that was to last for 40 years, latterly with its successor Triumph. The 1938 OS map shows the transformation in the fortunes of the garage since the full extent of the property was built over, presumably comprising the present garage and covered yards. The architect was Frank Cole of Long Buckby who was clearly aware of the contemporary fashions in architecture and how to apply the principles to commercial buildings. In addition to the principle business of selling and repairing cars, the garage also sold petrol to the public from pumps adjacent to the street until new safety regulations prevented the continuation of this practise. During the second World War the showrooms and workshops to the rear were used by the Ministry of Supply for storage. Although the garage stayed in business, it was mostly involved in servicing vehicles for the RAF. The property was sold in 1997 and taken over by the Swan Motor company. It is now going to be demolished.

{2} In 2004 the garage building was demolished.

Webster, M. & Parry, S., 2010, The 1930s Douglas Garage at 46-50 Sheep Street, Northampton (Article). SNN107498.

<1> Webster M.; Parry S., 2003, A Desk-Based and Building Assessment of Swan Motors, Formerly the Douglas Garage, 46-50 Sheep Street, Northampton, (unchecked) (Report). SNN103409.

<2> BROWN J., 2005, The Archaeology of 46-50 Sheep Street, Northampton 2003-2004, p.5-6+15 (checked) (Report). SNN105353.

Record last edited

Nov 19 2020 10:50AM