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Harold Radford

Harold Radford was a Rolls-Royce and Bentley retailer in South Kensington that built bespoke bodies from the late 1940s. In the Swinging Sixties it became known for luxury versions of the Mini.

Harold Radford & Co. Limited was a British retailer specialising in Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, in Melton Court, South Kensington, opposite the tube station. Under G. Harold Radford it developed a bespoke coachbuilding business in the late 1940s, Harold Radford (Coachbuilders) Limited, initially making bodies for new Bentleys for the rural lifestyle of the landed gentry.

In the Swinging Sixties Radford became known for its luxury versions of the Mini. In March 1961 the coachbuilding business, then part of the H. R. Owen group, combined with H. R. Owen and Swain servicing and body repair operations. In September 1966 it went into voluntary liquidation, and a new company, Harold Radford Coachbuilders (1967) Limited, was set up to continue. In 2021 the name was relaunched as a bespoke luxury car maker by Jenson Button and Ant Anstead, with no link to the original firm.

Notable for

Bespoke Bentleys for country life, and luxury Minis in the 1960s.

Notable designs

  • Luxury Mini conversions, Mini
  • Bespoke bodies for country life, Bentley

Places

Coachbuilder British

Books

Books about Harold Radford on Amazon

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