The Scout company’s origins date back to the 1880s when the Burden Brothers (William and Albert) built church and turret clocks at premises in Wilton Road, later moving to Tollgate Road where commercial and domestic clocks were added to their portfolio. By 1904, now occupying a garage in Friary Road and with additional finance provided by Percy Dean, a local landowner, the company became Dean & Burden Bros – Motor Engineers. The premises included a foundry where cast iron, bronze and aluminium castings were produced. A range of single, twin and four-cylinder marine engines were built, and paraffin stationery engines were produced. A single-cylinder air-cooled 2.5hp engine was developed for their next venture, a motor bicycle, but output was modest. Their first car built in September 1905 was fitted with their own four-cylinder engine of 2489cc. The next car built was sold to a local surgeon in October, a tonneau registered AM726, coloured green. Its second owner from February 1909 lived in the affluent surroundings of Montpelier Row in Blackheath Village SE3.
Owners from the local gentry, the church, the medical profession and MPs, etc. were soon praising their qualities and abilities and one went to a customer in Colombo in Sri Lanka. These hand-built vehicles took an average of seven weeks to complete.
Like so many other early makers, a whole range of models were soon offered and by
