Speaking as a former Triumph owner, there’s always a feeling of wistfulness whenever I drive through Canley, the district of Coventry where the Triumph factory used to be.
Yes, I’ve long had a soft spot for Triumph and its TR sports cars, especially those from the sixties TR4-TR5 era. Then, as now, that rugged Michelotti styling works so well. The design, the lusty TR engine, the sound, it all comes together and spells “classic British sports car.”
Simpler and cheaper than a Lotus Elan, somehow more interesting than an MGB, the TR of that era really captured my imagination. So much so, I went out and bought one.
It was a long while ago now, but I used to own a 1967 Triumph TRA IRS, royal blue, as above. The classic car boom was kicking off and I really wanted to be part of it.
My TR came with the lift off ‘Surrey Top’ which predated the Porsche 911 Targa by a couple of years, at least. Standard wheels (not wires) and I later fitted an overdrive box.
Anyway, I bought the car, joined the TR Register and once went up to a club event at the factory in Canley. They were still building the TR7 at that time so that tells you how far back we’re talking. The event was fun and the TR Register, then as now, is one of the great clubs.
Although renowned as a Triumph plant, Canley was originally the home of the Standard Motor Company and even after it closed down in August 1980 (as part of yet another British Leyland ‘reorganisation’), locals still referred to it fondly not as Triumph but as “The Standard.” Maybe they still do. (Picture above, courtesy of Octane).
Canley was eventually demolished but people don’t forget . Top Gear went there once, if you recall. I watched that on TV and once again that melancholy feeling started to come back.
Today’s there’s a big commemorative sculpture on the site of the old Triumph works sited appropriately enough on Herald Avenue…
A few weeks back I was in Coventry so spent a nostalgic hour in Canley checking out what used to be and what has survived.
The Standard Triumph sculpture itself is impressive, no doubt: more than 6ft high and with two angled sides showing the famous Standard Triumph badge, so easily viewable whether you’re travelling up or down Herald Avenue.
At the top, there’s a simple plaque “dedicated to the manufacturers and employees of Standard and Triumph motor vehicles, whose cars were built on this site from 1919-1980.”
Managed and co-ordinated by the TR Register, it was unveiled on April 16, 2000 by Coventry’s mayor and Triumph’s respected former chief engineer, Harry Webster.
For a Triumph fan, it’s a moving place to be. Around the corner, there’s the Standard Triumph Recreation Club, today looking a bit forlorn and the only surviving building from what used to be the Canley industrial complex, so far as I could tell.
Ah yes, but the surrounding roads are sure to raise a smile for Triumph anoraks of a certain age. Dolomite Avenue, Toledo Close, Renown Avenue (leading to Spitfire Close).
