The Riley family had interests in Coventry’s weaving industry but William Riley turned to the manufacture of bicycles when these became fashionable towards the end of the nineteenth century. He founded the Riley Cycle Company in 1896. One of his sons, Percy Riley, designed and built a four-wheeled motor car in 1898 but the company initially responded to the invention of motor vehicles by entering the motorised cycle rather than motor car market.

This 3.5 hp tricycle was displayed at the 1899 Cycle Show, inspired by the French De Dion Bouton tricycles of that period. The engine is of the De Dion type, manufactured under license by the Cudell company of Aachen in Germany. The tricycles were manufactured for the next two or three years together with pedal cycles, motor cycles and the quadricycle. This example is the oldest known surviving Riley motor vehicle. It was discovered in derelict condition in 1955 by Squadron-Leader
H A Knight and subsequently restored to running order, before being acquired for the Trust’s collection.