ALEX MOULTON CENTENARY - DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOULTON BICYCLE
September has traditionally been the month when members of the Moulton Bicycle Club - ‘Moultoneers’ - would descend on Bradford on Avon for a weekend meeting at The Hall. Many would pitch their tents in the grounds, all would enjoy a time of convivality and celebration of the Moulton bicycle and its creator, Dr. Alex Moulton. To read more about about the Club weekends at The Hall, click here.
For many, the highlight of the weekend was the chance to speak with the man himself, and to hear his insights on the various developmental steps and different bicycle models in the Moulton lineage during the Saturday afternoon discussion, and his broader comments in his after-dinner speech. Often a new model would be announced, an anniversary would be celebrated, and the achievements of Moulton bicycle riders would be acclaimed. In latter years there would be reflection, athough never the suggestion that development of the Moulton bicycle had slowed in any way. Sometimes there was almost a call to arms - with his own age increasing, he would exhort us all to “get out and ride your bicycles, whilst you still can”.
In recent years the role of after-dinner speaker has been ably filled by others. 2020 is different again, as it has been in so many ways. Coronavirus restrictions have meant that no Moulton Club Weekend has been possible, and for many people that milestone in the year is much missed.
The two film clips here make a limited attempt to fill that gap. The first, from Channel 4’s Equinox programme in the late 1980s, shows Alex Moulton as many will remember him. In only five minutes this film manages to tell a potted history of the Moulton bicycle and give glimpses of The Hall Estate where the Moulton bicycle is manufactured, of the metalwork fabrication, and of course of Alex Moulton himself.
The second, longer, clip is from Open University design and engineering teaching materials in 1971. As well as Alex Moulton explaining his designs in his own words, it is almost entirely shot within The Hall itself. The Moulton bicycle was - and still is - often used within design teaching, and Alex Moulton himself became an eminent figure in the field of design and engineering education. The Design Council’s ‘Engineering Design Education’ position paper (1976) was authored by Alex Moulton and became known as The Moulton Report. Its key recommendation was that 'Engineering should be taught in the context of design, so that is a continuous thread running through the teaching of undergraduate engineering’. It seems logical now, but it was certainly a minority view then. The findings of The Moulton Report were implemented across Higher Education in the UK and his work continues to be held up as an example of what can be achieved by seeking solutions to changes in circumstances and by being bold enough to think differently and break new ground.