Villiers Engineering Co. was established in the early 1890s by father and son duo John Marston and Charles Marston to manufacture bicycle pedals of new and improved design. In 1902 Charles took over sole control of the company and in that same year patented a cycle free-wheel mechanism that would become the company's mainstay product.
In 1912 Villiers introduced an internal combustion engine, a four-stroke design with integrated gearbox and clutch that was intended for motorcycle use. This engine was complex and was not successful. At the end of that same year a two-stroke engine was introduced of simpler design, and this engine was more successful. During World War I they produced munitions as well as engines for motorcycles.
The post-WWI period brought a series of improvements to their engines, which were supplied to a long list of mower, tiller, and motorcycle manufacturers. In 1928 the company went public. Through to the 1960s the company was a volume manufacturer of small engines for a wide variety of applications, primarily for the British market where they were dominant.
In 1965 the company was taken over by Manganese Bronze Holdings. In that same year Villiers took over the industrial engines business from BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Co.), and moved BSA engine production to Wolverhampton. In 1966 Manganese Bronze Holdings acquired financially distressed Villiers customer and motorcycle manufacturer AMC (Associated Motor Cycles), and merged the two businesses to create Norton-Villiers, "Norton" being the only profitable motorcycle brand in the AMC stable. After the merger, Villiers engines were used solely for Norton motorcycles. At some point Norton-Villiers stopped manufacturing engines in the UK but production continued in Madras, now Chennai, India.
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