Brake lining

Brake lining emerged from the hills of Derbyshire, where early automobiles and horse-drawn carriages struggled to stop on steep descents. The primitive shoe brakes of the era used leather, wood, or cotton pads pressing against wheel rims—materials that wore quickly, overheated, and failed when wet. The problem was friction: how to create a surface that could absorb kinetic energy as heat without degrading.

Herbert Frood, working in Chapel-en-le-Frith, began with transmission belt material pressed against wheels. The improvement was modest but suggested a path forward. The question was what material could withstand repeated heating and cooling cycles without losing its friction properties.

The answer was asbestos. The mineral's fibrous structure provided flexibility while its silicate composition resisted heat that would melt metals and char organics. In 1897, Frood founded Ferodo (an anagram of his name) and began producing brake linings impregnated with asbestos-resin compounds. By 1908-1909, he had developed the world's first asbestos-impregnated friction material specifically designed for vehicle braking.

The timing aligned with the automobile's transformation from curiosity to transportation. Early cars were slow enough that primitive brakes sufficed. But as engines grew more powerful and speeds increased, the need for reliable stopping became urgent. Frood's brake linings provided the missing piece: a friction surface that worked consistently across thousands of applications.

The first mass-produced car to incorporate Ferodo brake linings was the Austin 7 in 1922. As disc brakes replaced drum brakes, Ferodo adapted, developing disc brake pads for serial production in 1956. For decades, asbestos remained the preferred friction material because nothing else combined its heat resistance, durability, and cost.

Only in the 1970s did mounting evidence of asbestos-related disease—mesothelioma and lung cancer among brake workers and mechanics—force a rethinking. Ferodo developed the first non-asbestos semi-metallic brake pads in 1979, beginning a transition that continues today. Modern brake materials use ceramic fibers, Kevlar, and metallic compounds.

The brake lining demonstrates path-dependence in material technology: asbestos worked so well that alternatives weren't seriously pursued until health consequences became undeniable. Frood's solution to the Derbyshire hills shaped global automotive braking for nearly a century.