In March 1898 Grandfather William Cook was granted 2 licences (Nos. 29 & 42) to operate horse buses in Gravesend and he continued to do so for the first quarter of the 20^th century. In approximately 1904 he started bringing coaches to Southend to satisfy the growing demand for day excursions from the resort and by 1908 he had established a business in the London Road at Westcliff (which at that time was Leigh Road). Apart from running coaches William Cook was also a corn merchant and a coal & coke merchant.

The coach business is now in its third generation of Cooks and the past century has seen tremendous changes in the style and comfort of the coaches. The first vehicles had solid wheels and open tops and were drawn by horses. Today, of course, they have air-suspension, air conditioning, and all modern conveniences. In the early days a long trip would have been to Hockley or Maldon, nowadays it might be Bath or the New Forest.