R. B. TURNER & Co., velocipede c.1870

In November 1868 Rowley B. Turner brought over a Michaux bicycle from Paris, took it by train to Coventry, and persuaded the Coventry Sewing Machine Co, to make 400 similar machines for him to sell in Paris. His uncle, Josiah Turner, was manager of the Coventry Sewing Machine Co's works at Cheylesmore. Rowley Turner ordered 400 machines from the company for the French market. The French sales were lost owing to the war there, but the British market easily absorbed the entire batch.