John Marston (Industrialist)

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John Marston was the founder of the Sunbeam company of Wolverhampton.

Born in Ludlow in 1836, of a minor landowning family. In 1851 at age 15, he was sent to Wolverhampton to be apprenticed to Edward Perry at the Jeddo Works of Wolverhampton as a japanner (metal lacquerer). In 1859, at the age of 23, he bought two existing tinplate manufacturers and set up on his own as John Marston Ltd, making any and every sort of domestic article. He did so well that when Perry died in 1871, Marston took over his company and incorporated it in his own.

His company began making bicycles in 1877, and on the suggestion of his wife Ellen, Marston adopted the trademark brand Sunbeam. Resultantly, the Paul Street works were called Sunbeamland. John Marston was a perfectionist, and this was reflected in the high build quality of the Sunbeam bicycle, which had an enclosure around the chain in which an oil bath kept the chain lubricated and clean. They were made until 1936, and to the end, remained the best bicycle money could buy.

Between 1899 and 1901 the company also produced a number of experimental cars, but none of these were offered to the market. Marston disapproved of motorcycles, which he thought we dangerous. This did not stop him making thousands of them. But he never rode one, and nor did he ever drive a car. Nearly all his life he was a dedicated cyclist, most often using a tricycle. He was a successful businessman, and an apparent harsh employer. Workers who made a mistake at his factory were bluntly told "Get your jacket" and with that Marston threw workers out.

He attended St. Jude's church with metronomic regularity. He lived most of his adult life in The Oaks, Merridale Road, Wolverhampton.