Cyclopedia

The Museum has one of the best cycle collections in the country. The majority of the cycles were given to the Museum by ‘Sammy Bartleet’ in the mid 1930s. This donation was the inspiration for the city’s Museums to collect road transport items, which has led to the fantastic collection of vehicles in the Museum today.

The Cyclopaedia gallery depicts Coventry’s involvement with the cycle industry. From 1869 until the early twentieth century Coventry was the ‘Cycle Capital of the World’ with hundreds of companies making machines in the city.

In the gallery you will see the first type of bicycle - the Hobby Horse. This is followed by the Velocipede or Boneshaker, the Penny Farthing and the Safety bicycle. But there are also many strange and wonderful machines which show how cycle makers have experimented with different gears, materials, shapes and sizes until developing the modern cycle. There is also a range of children’s cycles on display, from a superb Victorian tricycle to the Raleigh Chopper of the 1970s.

The most significant cycle on display is the Rover Safety cycle of the mid 1880s. Developed in Coventry by John Kemp Starley, this bicycle is the forerunner of all modern bicycles. It highlights the significance of Coventry as the birth place of the modern bicycle.

The gallery explores how cycles have been made and used in the past, and also highlights modern concerns around global warming, which could lead to the cycle to once again becoming a significant form of world wide transportation.

  Images by Haydn Bailey Photography

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