Mann & Overton

Mann & Overton Limited owned and operated a motor vehicle dealers business previously known as Mann & Overton's and established by John Mann and John Overton in 1901 which came to specialise in the supply of London taxicabs, first Unic then Austin Taxicabs, eventually holding the concession for the Austin taxicab chassis for the whole of the Metropolitan Police Area of London. Their base was at 177, Battersea Bridge Road, London, SW11 and their distribution area included the provinces.

Directors included: John Thomas Overton, William Overton and Robert Clifton Hills Overton.

For more than 80 years the most popular London taxicabs have all been built to the Mann & Overton design and provided by them or their firm's successors now under the name of The London Taxi Company.

Mann & Overton's were very active motorcar importers and dealers from their beginning, participating in all significant motor shows in England and Ireland and providing entries in major car trials.

The provision of hire purchase terms to owner-drivers and taxicab investors was an important part of the business— and the reason the business was bought by a banking group in 1977.

One of London's original brands of taxicab it was supplied by Mann & Overton Limited who were concessionaires and British distributors of Unic cabs on behalf of the principals in Paris France. The appearance of these sturdy vehicles changed very little in two decades. In 1924 Mann & Overton supplied nearly 80% of the new cabs licensed in London.

In 1915 a new tax had been introduced of 33.33% on luxury imports to help fund the war. Relaxed when peace returned these duties were reintroduced in July 1925 and with effect from 1 May 1926 McKenna duties were for the first time imposed on commercial vehicles to protect UK manufacturers from imports. Finally Unic Motors (1928) Limited was established in Cricklewood in North London to assemble French made components to try to reduce the incidence of import duty but the locally assembled taxicabs remained expensive and proved less reliable than the model they replaced.

The Public Carriage Office—then under the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard but now part of Transport for London (as Taxis and Private Hire)—regulates the design of London's taxicabs. The reason for the lofty appearance was a police regulation stating there must be adequate room for a gentleman wearing a top hat but no-one stipulated what length a gentleman must be from topper to bottom.

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Wikipedia