York Historic Environment Record

The British Power, Traction & Lighting (BPTL) Company's factory was probably built in about 1900 on the site of the Engineer Cycle Works on Hull Road in York. The BPTL itself was formed in 1900, acquiring the assetts of a number of Yorkshire-based companies, including the Engineer Cycle Works Ltd, the company's main product was the Gardner-Serpollet patent steam car - a French design for which the BPTL held the British manufacturing licence. The venture was, however, unsuccessful and the company went bankrupt in 1903. By 1910 the former factory was in use as a printing works and remained so until 1968. It was later used as a supermarket until demolition in 2005. The original factory building was of brick, in pier and panel construction, and two storeys high It had a triple-span slate roof and a six-bay front elevation.