Vauxhall seems originally to have been part of the extensive Manor of South Lambeth, which was held in the 13th century by the de Redvers family. The name Vauxhall (Fauxhall) is derived from Falkes de Bréauté, the second husband of Margaret, widow of Baldwin de Redvers. In 1857 the Vauxhall Ironworks were founded in the Vauxhall area of south London as a steam pump and marine engine manufacturer. The company built the first Vauxhall car in 1903. In 1905, seeking to build a dedicated factory for car manufacture on cheaper land with room for expansion, the firm relocated to a new site in Luton, Bedfordshire. By pure coincidence de Bréauté also held the manor of Luton between 1216 and 1226, with the Vauxhall company relocating from his London seat to his country seat. The griffin of the de Bréauté coat of arms was in use in both Vauxhall and Luton between the 13th and 20th centuries. The firm was renamed Vauxhall Motors in 1907 and still uses the griffin as its badge. References M.G.I. Ray, 'Alien knights in a hostile land: the experience of curial knights in thirteenth-century England and the assimilation of their families', Historical Research Vol. 79 no 206 (November 2006), pp. 451–76. (at pp. 455, 459, 463, 466–67, 469–71, 474.) External links Fawkes de Breaute Fawkes de Breaute and Bedford Castle Old Warden Abbey 12th-century births 1226 deaths 12th-century English people 13th-century English people Anglo-Normans Norman warriors Anglo-Normans in Wales High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire High Sheriffs of Rutland High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire Medieval English knights People of the Barons' Wars