# Charles Rolls

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British motoring and aviation pioneer (1877–1910)

For the co-founder of the drinks brand, see [Charles Rolls (Fever-Tree)](/source/Charles_Rolls_(Fever-Tree)). For the British engraver, see [Charles Rolls (engraver)](/source/Charles_Rolls_(engraver)).

The Honourable Charles Rolls FRGS FRMetS MICE Born (1877-08-27)27 August 1877 Berkeley Square, London, England Died 12 July 1910(1910-07-12) (aged 32) Southbourne, Bournemouth, England Cause of death Air accident Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge Occupations Motor car promoter and aviator Known for Co-founder, Rolls-Royce Parents The 1st Baron Llangattock (father) Georgiana, Baroness Llangattock (mother) Signature

**Charles Stewart Rolls** (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was a [British](/source/British_people) motoring and aviation pioneer. With [Henry Royce](/source/Henry_Royce), he co-founded the [Rolls-Royce](/source/Rolls-Royce_Limited) car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, when the tail of his [Wright Flyer](/source/Wright_Model_A) broke off during a flying display in [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth). He was aged 32.

## Early life

Medals won by Rolls in ballooning and motoring events. [Monmouth Museum](/source/Monmouth_Museum)

Rolls was born in [Berkeley Square](/source/Berkeley_Square), London, third son of [the 1st Baron Llangattock](/source/John_Rolls%2C_1st_Baron_Llangattock) of the [Rolls family](/source/Rolls_family) and [Lady Llangattock](/source/Lady_Llangattock). Despite his London birth, he retained a strong family connection with his ancestral home,[1] [The Hendre](/source/The_Hendre), a [country house](/source/English_country_house) near [Monmouth](/source/Monmouth) in [Monmouthshire](/source/Monmouthshire_(historic)) in the [south-east](/source/South_East_Wales) of [Wales](/source/Wales). After attending Mortimer Vicarage [Preparatory School](/source/Preparatory_school_(UK)) in [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire), he was educated at [Eton College](/source/Eton_College) where his developing interest in engines earned him the nickname "dirty Rolls". Although his father disliked his educational choices, Rolls persisted.[2]

In 1894, he attended a private [crammer](/source/Cram_school) in Cambridge which helped him gain entry to [Trinity College, Cambridge](/source/Trinity_College%2C_Cambridge), in 1895,[3] where he studied mechanical and applied science. In 1896, at the age of 18, he travelled to Paris to buy his first car, a [Peugeot](/source/Peugeot) [Phaeton](/source/Phaeton_body), and joined the [Automobile Club of France](/source/French_Automobile_Club). His Peugeot is believed to have been the first car based in Cambridge, and one of the first three cars owned in Wales. An early motoring enthusiast, he joined the Self-Propelled Traffic Association, which campaigned against the restrictions imposed on motor vehicles by the [Locomotive Acts](/source/Locomotive_Acts), and became a founder member of the [Automobile Club of Great Britain](/source/Royal_Automobile_Club), with which the Association merged in 1897.[4]

Rolls was a keen cyclist and spent time at Cambridge bicycle racing. In 1896, he won a [Half Blue](/source/Blue_(university_sport)) and the following year became captain of the Cambridge University Bicycle Club.[5][6]

Rolls graduated from Cambridge in 1898 and began working on the [steam yacht](/source/Steam_yacht) *Santa Maria* followed by a position at the [London and North Western Railway](/source/London_and_North_Western_Railway) in [Crewe](/source/Crewe).[2] However, his talents lay more in salesmanship and motoring pioneering than practical engineering; in January 1903, with the help of £6,600 provided by his father, he started one of Britain's first car dealerships,[7] C. S. Rolls & Co. based in [Lillie Hall](/source/Lillie_Hall), [Fulham](/source/Fulham), to import and sell French [Peugeot](/source/Peugeot) and Belgian [Minerva](/source/Minerva_(automobile)) vehicles.[8][9]

## Partnership with Royce

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C. S. Rolls driving [the Duke of York](/source/George_V_of_the_United_Kingdom) accompanied by Sir Charles Cust and Rolls' father, Lord Llangattock, at 'The Hendre', 1900

Rolls was introduced to [Henry Royce](/source/Henry_Royce) by a friend at the [Royal Automobile Club](/source/Royal_Automobile_Club), Henry Edmunds, who was also a director of Royce Ltd. Edmunds showed him Royce's car and arranged the historic meeting between Rolls and Royce at the [Midland Hotel](/source/Midland_Hotel_(Manchester)), Manchester, on 4 May 1904. In spite of his preference for three or four cylinder cars, Rolls was impressed with the two-cylinder Royce 10 and in a subsequent agreement of 23 December 1904 agreed to take all the cars Royce could make. These would be of two, three, four and six cylinders and would be badged as Rolls-Royces.

Bronze bust at [Derby Industrial Museum](/source/Derby_Industrial_Museum)

The first Rolls-Royce car, the [Rolls-Royce 10 hp](/source/Rolls-Royce_10_hp), was unveiled at the [Paris Salon](/source/Paris_Motor_Show) in December 1904, although in the early advertising it was the name of Rolls that was emphasised over that of Royce. In 1906 Rolls and Royce formalised their partnership by creating [Rolls-Royce Limited](/source/Rolls-Royce_Limited), with Rolls appointed Technical Managing Director on a salary of £750 per annum plus 4% of the profits in excess of £10,000. Rolls provided the financial backing and business acumen to complement Royce's technical expertise. In 1907 Rolls-Royce Limited bought out C. S. Rolls & Co.

Rolls put much effort into publicising the quietness and smoothness of the Rolls-Royce, and at the end of 1906 travelled to the US to promote the new cars. The company was winning awards for the quality and reliability of its cars by 1907. But by 1909 Rolls' interest in the business was waning, and at the end of the year he resigned as Technical managing director and became a [non-executive director](/source/Non-executive_director).[2]

C. S. Rolls in a balloon, probably his 'Midget'

## Pioneer aviator

In 1901, with [Santos Dumont](/source/Santos_Dumont)

Rolls was a pioneer aviator and initially, balloonist,[7] making over 170 balloon ascents. In 1903 he won the [Gordon Bennett](/source/James_Gordon_Bennett_Jr.) Gold Medal for the longest single flight time.

By 1907 Rolls' interest turned increasingly to flying and he tried to persuade Royce to design an aero engine. He became the second Briton to go up in an aeroplane. Piloted by [Wilbur Wright](/source/Wilbur_Wright), their flight on 8 October 1908 from Camp d'Auvours, eleven kilometres east of [Le Mans](/source/Le_Mans), lasted four minutes and twenty seconds.[10] He bought one of six [Wright Flyer](/source/Wright_Model_A) aircraft built by [Short Brothers](/source/Short_Brothers) under licence from the [Wright Brothers](/source/Wright_Brothers) and from early October 1909[2] made more than 200 flights. He co-founded a ballooning club in 1901 with [Frank Hedges Butler](/source/Frank_Hedges_Butler) that later became the [Royal Aero Club](/source/Royal_Aero_Club).[11] In March 1910, he became the second person the club licensed to fly an aeroplane.[12]

Rolls became the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel) by plane, taking 95 minutes on 2 June 1910.[7] For this feat, which included the first eastbound aerial crossing of the English Channel, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.[13][note 1] There is a [statue in Monmouth to commemorate the flight](/source/Statue_of_Charles_Rolls%2C_Monmouth) and another, by [Kathleen Scott](/source/Kathleen_Scott), in [Dover](/source/Dover).

## Death

Photograph on the front page of the *[Illustrated London News](/source/Illustrated_London_News)*, 16 July 1910, showing the wreckage of the plane crash which killed Rolls

On 12 July 1910, at the age of 32, Rolls was killed in an air crash at [Hengistbury](/source/Hengistbury) Airfield,[14] [Southbourne](/source/Southbourne%2C_Dorset), [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth) when the tail of his [Wright Flyer](/source/Wright_Model_A) broke off during a flying display. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, and the eleventh person internationally. His was also the first powered aviation fatality in the United Kingdom.[5][note 2]

His grave lies at the churchyard of [St Cadoc's Church](/source/Church_of_St_Cadoc%2C_Llangattock_Vibon_Avel), [Llangattock-Vibon-Avel](/source/Llangattock-Vibon-Avel), where many of the Rolls family lie buried in various family tombs. His grave is just below Llangattock Manor and bears the inscription:

"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."

[A statue](/source/Statue_of_Charles_Rolls%2C_Monmouth) in his memory, in which he is seen holding a biplane model, was erected in [Agincourt Square, Monmouth](/source/Agincourt_Square%2C_Monmouth). A further memorial to him was unveiled in 1981 in the bottom playing field of [St Peter's Catholic School](/source/St_Peter's_Catholic_School%2C_Bournemouth), Bournemouth, which was developed on the site of Hengistbury Airfield. There is a stained-glass window in All Saints' Church, [Eastchurch](/source/Eastchurch) on the Isle of Sheppey, dedicated jointly to Rolls and to fellow pioneer aviator [Cecil Grace](/source/Cecil_Grace).[15]

		- [Statue of Charles Rolls, Monmouth](/source/Statue_of_Charles_Rolls%2C_Monmouth)

		- Statue of Charles Rolls in [Dover](/source/Dover)

		- Rolls family graves, [Llangattock-Vibon-Avel](/source/Llangattock-Vibon-Avel), [Monmouthshire](/source/Monmouthshire)

		- Charles Rolls (centre), 1910

		- Memorial window by [Karl Parsons](/source/Karl_Parsons) at [Eastchurch](/source/Eastchurch), Kent

A memorial to Charles Rolls was dedicated 12 July 2022, at Hengistbury Head, Southbourne, Dorset, between the car park and the Hiker cafe.

This was the same day, date and time as it was in 1910 at the time of his crash at Southbourne, Hampshire [as it was at the time] when the tail came off of his Wright Flyer during a flying display on the airfield at what is now St Peters School.

Memorial to Charles Rolls at Hengistbury Head, Southbourne, Dorset

Family tree John Rolls (1735–1801) Sarah Coysh (c. 1742–1801) John Rolls of The Hendre (1776–1837) Martha John Etherington Welch Rolls (1807–70) Elizabeth Mary Long John Allan Rolls (1837–1912) Georgiana Marcia Maclean (1837–1923) John Maclean Rolls (1870–1916) Henry Alan Rolls (1871–1916) Eleanor Shelley-Rolls (1872–1961) Charles Stewart Rolls (1877–1910) (co-founder of Rolls-Royce)

## Cultural depictions

- Actor [Robert Powell](/source/Robert_Powell) portrays Rolls in the 1972–1973 miniseries *[The Edwardians](/source/The_Edwardians_(miniseries))*.[16]

## Note

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Louis Bleriot](/source/Louis_Bleriot) on 25 July 1909 and [Count Jacques de Lesseps](/source/Jacques_de_Lesseps) on 21 May 1910 crossed West-bound before him

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** "Mr. Rolls is the tenth airman who has met with a fatal accident in a motor-driven flying machine, and he is the first Englishman who has sacrificed his life in the cause of modern aviation." (Aeroplane Accident, Mr Rolls Killed at Bournemouth. *The Times*, Wednesday, 13 July 1910; p. 12; Issue 39323)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Hendre"](https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/372038). Geograph Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-The_Magic_Of_A_Name_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-The_Magic_Of_A_Name_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-The_Magic_Of_A_Name_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-The_Magic_Of_A_Name_2-3) Pugh, Peter (2001). *The Magic of a Name – The Rolls-Royce Story: The First 40 Years*. Icon Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-84046-151-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84046-151-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Rolls, the Hon. Charles Stewart (RLS895CS)"](https://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=RLS895CS&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50). *A Cambridge Alumni Database*. University of Cambridge.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Vance, James (1992). *Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them*. Rutgers University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8135-2691-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8135-2691-4).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-TT39323_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-TT39323_5-1) Aeroplane Accident, Mr Rolls Killed at Bournemouth. *The Times*, Wednesday, 13 July 1910; p. 12; Issue 39323

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** The Bicycle, 15 July 1942, pG. Rolls won a half-blue because cycling was not considered a full sport. Rolls also had a collection of bicycles from solos up to four-man tandems.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BBC_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BBC_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-BBC_7-2) ["Charles Rolls"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/historical_figures/charles_rolls.shtml). [BBC](/source/BBC). Retrieved 29 June 2011.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lillie_Enclave_8-0)** ["Draft London Plan Consultation: ref. Chapter 7 Heritage – Neglect & Destruction, The "Lillie Enclave" Fulham"](https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Lillie%20Road%20Residents%20Association%20%282481%29.pdf) (PDF). *Lillie Road Residents Association*. February 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Science_Museum_9-0)** ["C S Rolls' car showroom, Lillie Hall, Fulham, London, 1903"](https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10316386). *Science Museum*. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["U.S Centennial of Flight Commission: Wilbur & Orville Wright: A Chronology"](https://www.cabangu.com.br/pai_da_aviacao/9-luso/wrigth/Flight%20Log%201908%20Camp%20d%27Auvours,%20Le%20Mans,%20France.htm).Flight Log 1908 Camp d'Auvours, Le Mans, France.Retrieved 25 July 2018

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** John Blake.["A Brief History Of The Royal Aero Club."](http://www.royalaeroclub.co.uk/history-and-origins.php) The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 July 2018

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12March1910_12-0)** ["The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom – Official Notices to Members"](http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1910/1910%20-%200189.html). *Flight*: 185. March 1910. Retrieved 29 June 2011. – 12 March 1910

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Royal Aero Club Awards & Trophies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716165641/http://www.royalaeroclub.org/awardGold.htm). The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. Archived from [the original](http://www.royalaeroclub.org/awardGold.htm) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Charles Rolls and the tragic Dorset plane crash that ended the aviation pioneer's life"](https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14777171.charles-rolls-and-the-tragic-dorset-plane-crash-that-ended-the-aviation-pioneers-life/). *BOurnemouth Echo*. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Eastchurch Parish Council](http://www.eastchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=545) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100522031141/http://www.eastchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=545) 22 May 2010 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). Accessed 21 May 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Stanton B. Garner (1999). *Trevor Griffiths: Politics, Drama, History*. [University of Michigan Press](/source/University_of_Michigan_Press). p. 105.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Charles Stewart Rolls](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Charles_Stewart_Rolls).

Charles Rolls Heritage Trust [https://crht1910.org.uk/](https://crht1910.org.uk/)

- Works by or about [Charles Rolls](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Charles_Stewart_Rolls) at [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource)

- ["Charles Rolls of Monmouthshire, co-founder of the world famous Rolls-Royce company"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110709024352/http://www.famouswelsh.com/07_adventurers/profiles/Charles_Rolls.shtml). Famous Welsh. Archived from [the original](http://www.famouswelsh.com/07_adventurers/profiles/Charles_Rolls.shtml) on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. – More about Charles Rolls

- ["Charles Rolls"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042059/http://earlyaviators.com/erolls.htm). Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. Archived from [the original](https://www.earlyaviators.com/erolls.htm) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2011. – Transcription of the report of his death in a contemporary newspaper

- ["Search"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605022121/http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/search/). Gathering the Jewels. Archived from [the original](http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/search/) on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. – Old Photo of Rolls and the Royal Family

- ["Untitled Document"](https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/resources/images/2716835/?type=articleLandscape). *Centennial of Flight*. South Wales Argus. Retrieved 17 May 2014. – Charles Rolls goes on his first aeroplane flight with [Wilbur Wright](/source/Wilbur_Wright) on 8 October 1908 at Camp D'Auvours, France

- [Charles Stewart Rolls Statue, Dover Seafront](https://web.archive.org/web/20161027015310/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/81325030) – Post-renovation photograph and description

v t e Aviators killed in early aviation accidents Jun 15, 1785 Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier Jul 9, 1874 Vincent de Groof Aug 10, 1896 Otto Lilienthal Oct 2, 1899 Percy Pilcher Jul 18, 1905 Daniel J. Maloney Sep 17, 1908 Thomas Selfridge Sep 7, 1909 Eugène Lefebvre Sep 22, 1909 Ferdinand Ferber Dec 6, 1909 Antonio Fernández Santillana Jan 4, 1910 Léon Delagrange Apr 2, 1910 Hubert Le Blon Jul 12, 1910 Charles Rolls Jul 15, 1910 Daniel Kinet Aug 3, 1910 Nicolas Kinet Aug 27, 1910 Clément van Maasdijk Sep 27, 1910 Jorge Chávez Nov 17, 1910 Ralph Johnstone Dec 31, 1910 Archibald Hoxsey Dec 31, 1910 John Moisant Jan 9, 1911 Edvard Rusjan Mar 28, 1911 Giuseppe Cei May 6, 1911 René Vallon May 10, 1911 George E. M. Kelly May 18, 1911 Pierre Marie Bournique Jun 18, 1911 Léon Lemartin Jul 21, 1911 Denise Moore Aug 5, 1911 Alfred Emile Rambaldo Aug 15, 1911 William R. Badger Aug 15, 1911 St. Croix Johnstone Sep 8, 1911 Carlos Tenaud Sep 16, 1911 Édouard Nieuport Sep 17, 1911 Reginald Archibald Cammell Sep 29, 1911 Paul Engelhard Oct 19, 1911 Eugene Ely Oct 31, 1911 John Montgomery Dec 2, 1911 Tod Shriver Jan 22, 1912 Rutherford Page Feb 17, 1912 Graham Gilmour Mar 10, 1912 Suzanne Bernard Apr 3, 1912 Calbraith Rogers Apr 17, 1912 John Verrept Jun 1, 1912 Phil Parmalee Jun 9, 1912 Albert Kimmerling Jun 17, 1912 Julia Clark Jul 1, 1912 Harriet Quimby Jul 5, 1912 Eustace Loraine Sep 11, 1912 Paul Peck Sep 14, 1912 Howard W. Gill Sep 28, 1912 Lewis C. Rockwell Sep 28, 1912 Frank S. Scott Dec 15, 1912 Wilfred Parke May 27, 1913 Desmond Arthur Aug 7, 1913 Samuel Franklin Cody Sep 13, 1913 Aurel Vlaicu Sep 28, 1913 Bertram Dickson Oct 10, 1913 Ulrik Birch Dec 10, 1913 Léon Letort Apr 8, 1914 Ferdinand Verschaeve Jul 6, 1914 Georges Legagneux

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents before 1910 Jun 15, 1785 De Rozier's balloon incident Apr 15, 1875 Zénith balloon incident Jul 16, 1889 Peter Campbell Airship disappearance Jul 12, 1897 Deutschland airship fire Jul 13, 1897 Arctic Balloon Expedition Feb 14, 1902 Santos-Dumont nº6 crash (Monaco) May 12, 1902 Pax airship disaster Oct 7, 1903 Langley Aerodrome Dec 8, 1903 Langley Aerodrome Jan 18, 1906 LZ 2 Nov 30, 1907 Patrie airship disappearance Aug 8, 1908 LZ 4 Sep 25, 1909 Lebaudy République airship For single-person aviation accidents see: Aviators killed in early aviation accidents ► the 1910s

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom before 1920 1820s Thomas Harris (May 1824) 1890s Cecil Shadbolt (July 1892) Percy Pilcher (October 1899) 1910s 1910 Charles Rolls (July 1910) Cecil Grace (December 1910) 1912 Martin-Handasyde No. 3 crash (February 1912) Brooklands Flanders Monoplane crash (May 1912) Bristol Coanda Monoplane crash (September 1912) 1913 Cody Floatplane (August 1913) 1918 Maxstoke air crash (August 1918) 1919 Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown (June 1919) Airship N.S.11 crash (July 1919) 1820–1919 ► 1920–1929

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Other SNAC Yale LUX

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