Hamshaw's Motor Garage is first mentioned in the Leicester Directory of 1904, but the origins of this firm are much older and provide a direct link between coach and carriage building and motor engineering. Thomas Hamshaw was a coach proprietor in Leicester in 1846 and a' William Hamshaw, coach painter is mentioned in the Leicester Directory of 1854. During the same period a John Parr, coach builder, had premises in Humberstone Gate, and by 1861 the firm of Parr and Hamshaw was established at 37, Humberstone Gate. Sometime between 1878 and 1888 the firm became H.A.Hamshaw, coach and carriage builders.
