George Carwardine

George Carwardine (1887 - 1947) didn’t need to invent the Anglepoise® lamp to make his name; he was already a practicing engineer of some note, specialising in vehicle suspension systems. He honed his skills at the Horstmann Car Company where he rose through the ranks to become Chief Designer. Then in 1924, when Horstmann’s got into financial difficulties Carwardine left to start his own business, which he called Cardine Accessories.

He later went back to work with Sydney Horstmann but in 1929 the Horstmann car company went bankrupt. Carwardine seized the moment – here was the opportunity he’d been waiting for to explore a longstanding fascination with spring and lever based mechanisms. He established a garden workshop at his home in Bath and began work on the design that would later become his legacy.