A couple of weeks or so ago. a List member posed the question about British framebuilders working outside London whose products were worthy of collection.. the point being that everyone knows of Bates, Hetchins, Paris, Gillott, Holdsworth etc.
I have started drawing up a fuller answer to that question but as an interim measure I would point you to a couple of builders examples of whose work are currently goung through Ebay. The first is the Armstrong Moth - Item 7100878610. Although a slightly larger manufacturer than some lightweight builders, Armstrong's top-end frames were known for their good craftsmanship and lightweight.They were based in Birmingham. The Moth model had a beautiful art nouveau head transfer that is still available through Nick at lloyds. The second frame is the Rotrax, still being produced from the same premises as in the 50s in Southampton. The Ebay example is Item 2268801575, and is a whole bike with a majority of correct period parts on it. The model has Nervex Serie Legere lugs and appears to be in very good decorative order, complete with headbadge. many English club lads regularly claimed that Rotrax's handled beautifully on the road - they had ".. plenty get-up and go!" in all respects the equal of Gillotts which is quite a claim to live up to. The Shirley was virtually the base model in the Rotrax range at one time, but only because all the others had handcut lugs.. and I mean hand-cut...not Nervex Pros, which were available on some models lower in the range from time to time.
Apart from these two machines there are also several "regional" British frames on Ebay at the moment including a Mercian, from Derby in the MIdlands, and a couple of Bob Jacksons from up here in Leeds..one of which has the cursed Nervex Pro lugs.
It's not that I don't like Nervex lugs.. I've used them on many occasions..but they are just so ...UBIQUITOUS... so much so that just about every nameless, transferless, headbadgeless, unidentified frame in my collection, be it French or English has... yes... Nervex Pro lugs.
Glad I got that out of my system
Norris Lockley... feeling much better now, Settle, N Yorks, UK