Family
Values and Experience in Motoring Matters
The land alongside the main Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare road through Cambridge Batch, where Clist & Rattle's showroom now stands, used to belong to the estate of Lady Smythe.
After the end of the First World War two ex-servicemen, brothers in law Captain Leslie Clist and Sergeant Sidney Rattle, invested £100 each and bought an acre of land from Lady Smythe, next to what was the main road between Weston and Bristol. Here in 1922 they built a corrugated iron shed some 36 feet by 24 feet, and set up in business together, repairing things and selling petrol from cans stored at the premises.
Leslie was an electrical engineer and Sidney, the son of an engineer at Yatton Water Works, was a fully qualified mechanical engineer, having served a complete 7-year apprenticeship. Sidney was a keen motorcyclist, and was to travel to work and back for many years on his 1902 belt-driven, Belgian-made FN motorcycle.
The two men began by mending bicycles and miscellaneous electrical items, then progressed to motorbikes and car repairs, and in 1923 they started a car hire business, acting as chauffeurs to the local landed gentry.
Their
enterprise paid off; by 1925 they had amassed enough capital to build a proper
garage and workshop, with underground petrol storage tanks and a small generator
to provide electricity. A period of expansion followed; for a time they ran a
second business at Potter's Hill, Felton and the Cambridge Batch site was
developed still further with the construction of two houses at the back of the
garage and a café next to it. Leslie and Sidney's wives, Lilian Clist and
Dorothy Rattle, used the houses to provide bed and breakfast accommodation for
travellers and also for some of the students at nearby Long Ashton Research
station, while the café became a well-known landmark in the district and an
ideal place for local people to meet and enjoy a meal or snack. Lilian and
Dorothy's homemade cakes, fruit drinks and ice cream became legendary
throughout the area.
In the early 1930s Messrs Clist & Rattle were the talk of Bristol's motorists when they became the first garage on the Weston Road to have electrically-operated pumps installed. An article in "Town and Country News" dated 30th December 1932 was most enthusiastic about their "six illuminated petrol pumps and several oil bins carrying popular brands of petrol and lubricating oils, and also a free air service point." By this time the workshop, too, was equipped with all the latest technology of the day, including a Tecalamit Service Station with a hydraulic ramp, Black & Decker decarbonising and valve resurfacing plant, cylinder grinding plant incorporating honing and boring bar, lathe and general machine shop tools, and other up-to-date plant and equipment, with compressed air points installed throughout. In 1934 a new car showroom was opened but at the same time the café closed, giving Lilian and Dorothy a well-earned rest but depriving the locals of the homemade cakes of which they had become so fond.
As
trade increased, largely as a result of personal recommendations of satisfied
customers, each partner began to specialise in his own side of the business. Car
sales were handled by Leslie Clist; the firm had been appointed Austin Dealers
in 1928, but could supply any make of car and dealt in both new and second-hand
vehicles. Repair work, for which the garage held official RAC and AA approval,
was supervised by Sidney Rattle as works foreman. They were assisted by Mr
Victor Gill who joined the firm in its very early days and stayed with them for
over 50 years until his retirement, becoming Reception Engineer and then Service
Manager. The firm stocked a full range of spares and accessories, and operated a
breakdown service using a fully equipped breakdown van with towing and lifting
facilities.
In 1938 disaster struck; fire broke out in the engine house at the back of the premises, and spread rapidly. Sidney Rattle's son Bob spotted the flames and raised the alarm; the men tried to keep the fire in check with buckets of water and a hose while passing motorists obligingly stopped and helped move nearly 40 cars to safety away from the flames. By the time the fire brigade arrived the engine house was burning furiously; the firemen managed to stop the blaze spreading to the main garage premises and the 1000 gallons of crude oil stored close to the engine house, but the engine house itself together with the generating plant, compressors, switchboards and other equipment was totally destroyed. Two vehicles belonging to Clist & Rattle were damaged, and the fire spread to adjoining premises, gutting Messrs Bast's cabinet making works and van, and a shed and contents belonging to a coal merchant, Mr J White, before it was finally brought under control. The total cost of the damage amounted to in excess of £ 2000. However, within 24 hours power had been restored thanks to a borrowed generator, and some three months later new buildings had been erected to replace those destroyed by fire. Later that year Mr Clist became superintendent of the Long Ashton RDC Fire Brigade.
The next challenge came in the form of the Second World War. Part of the garage site became a base for the auxiliary fire service, and half the workshop was give over to the war effort, being used for storage and round-the-clock production of parts for tanks. Sidney rattle supervised the war work and carried on running the business in the limited space that was left.
As things returned to normal
after the war, Clist & rattle continued to develop their reputation for
reliable honest trading. Over the years they continued to supply a full range of
cars including Austin, Morris, Wolseley, Riley, Triumph, Standard and Ford. New
petrol pumps were installed, two acres of land to the rear of the premises were
acquired for development, and the next generation began to lend a hand; Leslie's
two sons Peter and Richard became involved in running the firm, talking over
when Leslie retired from the business he had founded some 30 years earlier.
In response to the growing demand for accident repair work, a large new panel beating and body-work department equipped with the latest facilities to undertake work for the leading insurance companies and repair accident damaged vehicles to the highest standard, was opened during the 1960's. Plans for the long Ashton by-pass then began to cast some doubts over the future of Cambridge Batch garage, as there were fears that the passing trade would be lost, and when construction began on the by-pass the company acquired Ettrick Garage at Backwell. Clist & Rattle reached its 50th anniversary in 1972 and celebrated half a century's service to the motoring public at both Cambridge Batch and Ettrick Garage. Motorists visiting the company's new forecourt shop at that time could have bought a gallon of Esso Superlube for 65p, or for those who were saving Green Shield Stamps, a special promotion on Uniflo oil offered a quarter of a book of Green Shield Stamps free with every gallon tin. It became apparent that the fears over the adverse effects of the by-pass had been unfounded; petrol sales at Cambridge Batch remained good, and happily the company was able to retain its original premises. Ettrick garage was subsequently disposed of, but the company continued to operate from two sites as on the 1st of June 1973 it took over Portishead Service Station in High Street, Portishead, from where they operated a Morris franchise. During this era, customers looking for a new car could go to Cambridge Batch to check out the Austin range which consisted of the Austin Mini, the Allegro or the Maxi - over Easter 1974 a one year old, M-registered maxi 1750 with 9000 miles on the clock, cost new £1525, was on offer at £1195 - or they could visit Portishead to inspect the new Marina range, while those who wanted something a little sportier might have wanted to test drive the Mini Clubman or even the MGB GT.
Motoring has changed a lot since those days, but Clist & Rattle today is one of the few family firms still operating in the motor trade under the ownership and control of the family, which founded it. Peter Clist, the Chairman retired at the end of 1999 leaving his son, Paul as Managing Director. That is not to say that the company is not at the forefront of modern innovative thinking. One of the first garages to take advantage of the so-called "dual franchising" allowed first by rover during the early 90's, the company took on the Skoda franchise in 1991. Viewed with some scepticism initially, the company's choice has been vindicated as the Skoda range now boasts the What car? car of the year 2001 in the Fabia. The early 90's also saw the Renault brand sold from the Portishead branch and extensive refurbishment during late 1999 brought the garage up to Renault's much coveted "Dealership 2000 " standard - one of the first in the area to achieve this.
If the company has remained a stable part of the local community, the same is not true for the British car industry. The well-publicised collapse of MG Rover in April 2005 had a huge impact not only on the industrial landscape in the midlands, but also on dealerships throughout the country. Many were unable to continue trading in the aftermath but the diverse portfolio of products that Clist & Rattle offers minimised the effect.
New opportunities had been actively sought since late 2004 culminating in the appointment of both Proton and Perodua in July 2005. Both these franchises offer excellent value products, which dovetail perfectly amongst the Skoda and Renault products.
Perodua offers Toyota technology (it is part-owned by the Japanese giant) at affordable prices and Proton, who own Lotus engineering, gives its customers "power and control."
Customer service has been the foundation of the company's success since 1922 and the much-coveted ISO 9001 accreditation was earned through the Skoda brand in early 2005. Both branches however, offer the motoring public a friendly and obliging service, combining a "no-pressure" sales policy with this "one-stop shop" approach and offer a full range of after-sales services from routine servicing and repairs, parts and accessories, body shop and a new parts factoring arm, offering a first class delivery service of trade parts to local garages. With a reputation built on trust and customer care and a wealth of experience, which is second to none, Clist & Rattle's aim is to provide the same level of Service, which Bristol's motorists have come to expect from this family firm.