1935 Bentley 3 ½ Ltr Park Ward Sports Saloon B198DG

A sound, clean & sharp example of the ever popular & well-balanced in appearance Park Ward design, in appealing, correct condition throughout. The paintwork, although not without blemish, is of high quality & the interior is fresh & lovely, recently re-upholstered in beige leather with black piping, accompanied by excellent headlining & carpets, also recent, including the boot. The frontal aspect is impressive, with P100 headlights, a correct spotlight & twin Lucas ‘Alto’ horns. The car has been sensibly upgraded to flashing indicators, the fronts being neatly incorporated into the sidelights, but at the same time, for authenticity, the original trafficators are still in place & working. Offered serviced & newly MoT’d.

Chassis No. B198DG                    Reg No. BXN 635        

Snippets: The Doggart, Huxley, Charrington & Stewart-Clark families.
The 1st owner of B198DG was Norman Doggart (1908/73), the youngest son of Arthur Doggart (1866/1932), in 1895 Arthur Doggart had purchased the firm Hedley, Swan & Co in Bishop Aukland, after their father’s death Norman & his older brother Arthur both served as Chairman with Norman’s son Jamie carrying on the mantle until Doggarts closed in 1980.  Norman & Arthur Doggart were both keen sportsmen especially in the fields of cricket & football.  In 1937 Norman married Ruth “Biddy” Ferens from Bishop Auckland.  The Feren family were flour mill-owners who produced “horse provender” for the pit ponies!  Doggarts were well known for their window displays showing their range of stock: Trutex, Johns-Crafts Pyjamas, Millington Gloves, Mybro knit-ware & the Twomax Kilt Se – many names now long gone.

In 1946 B198DG was in the stock of W. M. Couper – a respected car dealer & Rally competitor who he competed in many Monte Carlo Rallies driving Bentleys, Jaguars & Armstrong Siddeleys, Couper later wrote a book on his adventures.

In 1947 the Bentley was bought by Anthony Tuer Shawcross of Ipswich – his eclectic family connections include: his mother-in-law was Lady Albinia Donaldson, nee Lady Hobart-Hampden, grand-daughter of 6th Earl of Buckingham.  His maternal grandfather was Thomas Henry Huxley a prominent scientist & Darwinist, the Huxley family included artists, doctors, architects & biologists.  Two of Anthony’s aunts married the same man but not at the same timer!! Marian Huxley an artist (1859/87) married Hon John Collier in 1879, two years after he was widowed, he married Marian’s younger sister Ethel Huxley (1866/1941).

Anthony changed his mind about B198DG & it was immediately re-sold to Lt-Col S. H. Charrington of the Ipswich Malting Co.  Lt-Col Sydney Herbert Charrington (1878/1954) CMG DSO was an exceptional character – military officer, elite sportsman & landowner, a scion of the Charrington Brewery family, he was 1 of 9 children, their age difference was over 17!  In 1899 Sydney Charrington joined the Royal Fusiliers - he served with the Kings Hussars in South Africa & later in Kenya where after the end of WWI he farmed the “Ngirimori” estate. During WWI he was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps & later the Tank Brigade with the rank of Brigadier.  He returned to the UK in 1931 & lived at Rockfield, Monmouth. Sydney’s uncle Frederick Charrington (1850/1936) was an English social reformer who renounced his succession to the brewing fortune in order to devote his life to temperance work, his interest in the family firm was bought out by Sydney’s father John who was Frederick’s younger brother which in turn provided John Charrington the means to further his business enterprises.

From 1950/60 B189DG was with Jack Stewart-Clark a great-grandson of the thread magnate, Stewart Clark.  In 1952 after having served with the Coldstream Guards in Tripoli followed by 3 years at Balliol College Jack joined the firm of J & P Coats in 1952. His managerial roles included being the MD of the Pakistan works t& of its Holland division.  In 1999 he inherited Dundas Castle which had been used by the RAF as their HQ for Balloon Barrage Operations & within 5 years Dundas Castle was opened as a hotel – it hosted many weddings, golfing events & unusually an annual re-enactment of the Life of Christ!!