What is a Stepney Tyre?

The story of “Stepney” tyres is an interesting one, dating back to the early 20^th century in the great country known as Wales.

A Stepney tyre is another term for a spare tyre, which was invented by brothers Thomas and Walter Davies in 1904. Stepney tyres have evolved over decades, becoming one of the most important assets for motorists to have on hand for their vehicles.

As said, the story of the word Stepney is interesting, especially the outcome of the Davies brothers discovering the spare tyre.

History of the Stepney Tyre

Before the year 1904, the concept of a spare wheel/tyre did not exist – that was until Thomas and Walter Davies invented the Stepney tyre.

Before Thomas and Walter came up with the invention, vehicles were not made without spare wheels. This made any possibilities of having tyre problems concerning, as populations would only be relying on local garages to fix any problems they had.

In their early years, the Davies brothers were dealers in iron and hardware in their hometown of Llanelli, Wales. Their ironmongery shop opened in 1895 on Stepney Street in Llanelli, which birthed the name and creation of Stepney tyres.

Then 1904 arrived, when both Thomas and Walter Davies launched the Stepney tyre, giving motorists all around the south of Wales a backup wheel/tyre in case of emergency regarding their tyres. The invention of the Stepney wheel/tyre involved the Davies brothers crafting a circular metal rim that could be fitted onto an inflated spare tyre.

As business was booming, they finally registered the ‘Stepney Spare Motor Wheel Ltd’ company in 1906. Using the Stepney tyre system to start an official business catapulted the brothers’ success, so much so that by 1909, the Davis brothers claimed that Stepney spare wheels were fitted to all London taxis.

After more years of success, a catalogue from the company stated that they had claimed to have sold over 400,000 Stepney tyres by 1913. Not a bad return for two local Welsh ironmongers, isn’t it?

From that point on, the company moved their operations from Llanelli to London, making the jump to being a global business.

Even a century later, the history of the term ‘Stepney tyre’ is still steeped deep within the automotive industry.