English frame builder with two separate periods of production activity, early on with a partner, Ian Reid, in Rushden (Northamptonshire) in the 1950s; then again, from the early 1980s until his death in 1998, in Ringstead (Northamptonshire) on his own. In the later period, he built the frames in sheds in his back yard and took his work to cycling shows (such as the York Rally and Harrowgate). He built probably only a few hundred in total. Many had plain lugs, others had extravagant lugwork (some of which were based on Ken Janes' design suggestions).
In his youth, Roy Cottingham was a first category road racer and at the age of 19 was invited to be part of the Tour of Britain team (which he had to decline so as not to miss exams to get into university). In the mid 1980s, he was one of the founding members of the League International, an alternative road racing association to the British Cycling Federation, which offers (among other things) age-related championships.
The frames featured here are all from his later work. The one immediately below was one of Cottingham's exhibition frames. It is a Chronometro (time trial) model, made of Reynolds 531.
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