J.A. Prestwich, an engineer, founded the company in 1895, when he was in his early twenties, initially behind his father's house. By 1911 he had moved to a new plant at Northumberland Park, Tottenham. Prestwich came to be known as much for his creation of cinematography projectors as his engines. He worked with S.Z. de Ferranti and later the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene. The company's engineering works in Northumberland Park closed in 1963.