Roxholme Hall near Sleaford, the picturesque residence of Captain J.A. and
Mrs. Cole was the scene of an interesting gathering of
The gathering was an invitation meet which Captain and Mrs. Cole extended to the members of the club of whom at least thirty arrived from all parts of the county. Very thoughtful it was of Captain Cole – himself a keen automobilist- to arrange a little contest for the entertainment of his guests.
This took the form of a driving competition against time for a silver match box and sovereign case which the host offered as a memento of the occasion. The idea was to start each car from an imaginary coach house and to take a course along fairly level ground for a distance of about 300 yards, negotiating one turn of the road to a stop mark, where it was necessary to reverse the engine and run backwards downhill for at least 100 yards to another stop, thence forward to the original starting place.
The chief difficulty presented was on reaching home to reverse the car, steer it through a gateway and locate it exactly within the lines representing the imaginary coach house. The total event proved extremely entertaining and was watched with much interest.
Twelve entered for the contest and eight competed. Mr.W.R. Pennell of Lincoln was starter and time keeper and the following was the order of time in which the cars finished:-
|
Mr. C. Holland
Boston
7½ h.p. Wolseley
2 min. 2 sec. |
|
Mr. R.M. Wright
Lincoln
12 h.p.
Georges-Richard
2 min. 5 sec. |
|
Major Goddard
Lincoln
12 h.p.
Richardson
2 min. 8 sec. |
|
Dr Russell
|
|
Captain Cole
Roxholme
12 h.p.
Durkopp
2 min. 15 sec. |
|
Mr. A.W. Holloway Boston
5 h.p.
Baby Peugeot
*2 min. 34 sec. |
|
Dr
Gilpin
Bourne
10h.p.
Peugeot
2 min. 35 sec. |
|
Dr Husband
Crowland
7 h.p. New
Orleans
did not finish |
* Disqualified in consequence of their finishing outside the allotted course.
Captain and Mrs. Cole invited many of their friends in the district to meet the automobilists and some time was spent in inspecting the various cars as they arrived. The handsome and luxurious way in which some of them were appointed gave one the idea that the acme of road traveling had been reached.
Tea was served to about a hundred guests on the lawns in front of the hall and the outing was one of the pleasantest which the club has had during the present season.
The Lincolnshire Club seems to be one of the most socially successful of the provincial automobile organisations, a fact that is all the more to the credit of its members, when the size of the county is taken into consideration. But, happily, Lincolnshire is blessed with excellent roads