Mystery old-school flat-bar 5 speed.

[SkipdiverJohn]

When I first seen the pics, the first thought that came to me was an old Carlton from the late 60's early 70s.

I've had a trawl through a few old catalogues, but most Carltons seem to have quite fancy lugwork and/or the distinctive wrapover seatstays, plus most frames also have pump pegs brazed on.
My mystery machine is actually very plain in respect of frame fittings, with just the gear cable bosses each side. being brazed, plus the headlamp boss The spring clips holding the rear brake cable along the top tube (removed by me before photos were taken) look a bit too old-fashioned to me for late 60's/early 70's. The geometry also looks a bit of a throwback to an earlier era. It must have been produced in some quantity due to the high-digit serial number, but by whom??

 

[classic33]

Or maybe the "serial number" isn't a serial"frame number. Three sets of dies were used to stamp the number shown. The third, fourth and the "E" under clearly from one set. Either side are different to each other.

The pump pegs may have been used to replace a "frame fit" pump. Something that's not as common these days.