Friday 13th February 2026  

Rev Kelcey c1908

When the Rev. Kelcey came to Quorn in 1892 he brought with him a pneumatic tyred bicycle - the first to be seen in the village. He was very keen on modern technology and was the first person in Quorn to own a motor car, In the Parish Magazine in 1908 he prophesied that within 20 years a mechanical flying machine would fly over Quorn!

This photograph shows Revd Kelcey on what is known as a fore-car. The Veteran Car Club of Great Britain tells us that fore-cars were one of the great experimental dead-ends of the early motor industry from a period where there was no established norm. They were popular from the late 1890s to around 1910, but had largely disappeared by the time of the First World War. They came in a number of different shapes and sizes but had the benefit of being light, quick and relatively cheap. They are defined by having the driver (or usually more accurately the rider) sitting behind the passenger, who in turn sat in a comfy seat sticking out in front of the machine. They were made as either three wheelers (with a single wheel at the rear) or four wheelers (like the one in our photograph). Despite having power, this machine is in many ways closer to a bicycle than a car.

This picture shows Revd Kelcey riding along School Lane, past the Stafford Orchard in his 'fore-car'. He gave many villagers a lift on his way around the parish.

Edward Kelcey left the village in 1909.

Submitted on: 2009-06-26 Submitted by: Kathryn Paterson and thanks to the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain Artefact ID: 45 Artefact URL: www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=45 Print: View artefact in printer-friendly page or just on its own (new browser tab).