Classic Car Museum Guide: Motor Cars, Motorcycles and Machinery

242 Pages·2020·22.393 MB·English

by  Lance Cole

C LA S S I C C A R
M U S E U M G U I D E
MOTOR CARS, MOTORCYCLES AND
MACHINERY
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 1 26/12/19 4:24 PM
Also by the author (non-fiction)
Bugatti Blue
The Classic Car Adventure
Secrets of the Spitfire
Spitfire MkV
Secret Wings of WWII
Jeep WWII
Bugatti Type 35 and Variants
Porsche 911
Porsche Model by Model
Allard The Complete Story
Saab Cars The Complete Story
Saab 99 & 900 The Complete Story
Citroen The Complete Story
Vickers VC10
VC10 Icon of the Skies
The Revised New Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Automobile
Heavies
Long Haul
Jetliners
Front Cover Main Photo: 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 at Prescott.
Back Cover: Assorted museum pieces.
Rear fly leaf Author’s Photo: The author at the wheel of a 1914 Chater Lea Singer Special.
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 2 26/12/19 4:24 PM
C LA S S I C C A R
M U S E U M G U I D E
MOTOR CARS, MOTORCYCLES AND
MACHINERY
LANCE COLE
‘From Amilcar to Austin, from BSA to Vincent, from AEC to
Scammell, via Rover, Triumph, and all points in between, notably
interrupted by the name British Leyland, our museums are
populated with wonderful memories in metal. Major museums and
minor museums make up the museum body that is at the soul of our
enthusiasm and worship for the cars and motorcycles of the past.’
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 3 26/12/19 6:06 PM
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by
Pen and Sword Transport
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Yorkshire - Philadelphia
Copyright © Lance Cole, 2020
ISBN 978 1 52673 587 4
The right of Lance Cole to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in
writing.
Typeset in Sabon LT Std 11/14
by Aura Technology and Software Services, India.
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd.
Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword Books Archaeology,
Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery, Family History, History, Maritime, Military,
Naval, Politics, Railways, Select, Transport, True Crime, Fiction, Frontline Books, Leo
Cooper, Praetorian Press, Seaforth Publishing, Wharncliffe and White Owl.
For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Or
PEN AND SWORD BOOKS
1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.penandswordbooks.com
Paper from
responsible sources
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P4.indd 4 24/01/20 3:15 PM
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
1 Motoring Museum Essentials 28
2 The Art of the Visit 60
3 The Museums 71
Aerospace Bristol 72
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre 73
Anglesey Transport Museum 73
Anson Engine Museum 74
Aston Martin Heritage Trust 75
Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum 77
Battlesbridge Motorcycle Museum 79
Beamish Museum 79
Bentley (W.O.) Memorial Foundation 80
Betws-Y-Coed Motor Museum 80
Bexhill Museum 80
Bicester Heritage / Bicester Motion 81
Biggar Albion Foundation/Museum 82
Birmingham Science Museum ‘Thinktank’ 82
Bo’ness Motor Museum 83
British Commercial Vehicle Museum 84
British Motor Museum 85
Brooklands Museum 88
Bubble Car Museum 94
Bugatti Trust (The) 94
Caister Castle Museum 114
Canvey Island Transport Museum (Castle Point) 114
Jim Clark Museum 115
Cloverlands Model Car Museum 115
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 5 26/12/19 4:24 PM
Craven Motorcycle Museum 116
Crich Tramway Museum 116
Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection 117
Coventry Transport Museum 118
David Brown Tractor Museum 118
David Coulthard Museum 119
David Silver Honda Collection 119
Design Museum London 120
Dover Transport Museum 120
Dundee Transport Museum 121
Dunsfold Collection (The) 121
Ferguson Family Museum 122
Filching Manor Motor Museum (Foulkes Halbard Collection) 122
Ford Heritage Centre 124
Glenluce Motor Museum 124
Gloucester Museum & Archives/Gloucester heritage 125
Grampian Transport Museum 125
Haynes International Motor Museum 126
History on Wheels Museum 132
Ipswich Transport Museum 133
Isle of Man Motor Museum (Cunningham Collection) 134
Jurby Transport Museum 135
Lakeland Motor Museum 135
Llangollen Motor Museum 137
Lanchester Museum, Library & Archive 137
Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum 138
London Bus Preservation Trust (Museum) 139
Maldon Museum of Power 140
Manx Transport Heritage Motor Museum 141
Milestones Museum 141
Moray Motor Museum 142
Murrays Motorcycle Museum 143
Museum of Lincoln Life 143
Museum of Liverpool (Transport) 144
Museum of Transport Manchester (GMTS) 144
Myreton Motor Museum 145
National Motor Museum Beaulieu (The) 164
6 CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM GUIDE: MOTOR CARS, MOTORCYCLES AND MACHINERY
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 6 26/12/19 4:24 PM
National Motorcycle Museum 170
National Museum Cardiff 172
National Trust Carriage Museum (The) 173
Northwest Museum of Road Transport 173
North Yorkshire Motor Museum (Matthewsons) 174
Oakham Treasures Tractor & Farm Museum (Bristol) 175
On Your Marques 175
Oxford Bus Museum and Morris Motors Museum 176
Pallot Steam, Motor & General Museum (The) 177
Patrick Collection (The) 178
Riverside Museum of Transport (Glasgow) 178
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) Museum 180
Sammy Miller Museum 181
Scaleby Hill Vintage Motorcycle Museum/Mike Barry Museum 183
Science Museum (The) 183
Science Museum Wroughton 185
Scottish Vintage Bus Museum (The) 186
Shuttleworth Collection (The) 186
South Yorkshire Transport Museum 189
Stanford Hall (Motorcycle) Museum 189
Streetlife Museum of Transport 190
Stonehurst Farm Motor Museum 191
Studio434 191
Swansea Bus Museum 192
Ulster Transport Museum 193
Whitewebbs Museum of Transport 194
Williams F1 Museum/Conference Centre 195
Wirral Transport Museum & Heritage Tramway 196
Wythall Transport Museum 196
4 Beyond Britain 209
Bibliography 240
6 CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM GUIDE: MOTOR CARS, MOTORCYCLES AND MACHINERY CONTENTS 7
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 7 26/12/19 4:24 PM
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Specific thanks to the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, Bicester Heritage, the
British Motor Museum, Bugatti Trust, Haynes International, the Lakeland
Museum, National Motorcycle Museum, National Motor Museum Trust,
the Shuttleworth Collection and the Australasian Motor Museums Association.
Thanks and acknowledgements to all the museums who assisted with content
listings and photography and offered proper tea and homemade cake – all paid for!
Acknowledgements to staffers at Classic and Sports Car, Practical Classics, and
Classic Cars for verbal opinions. Thanks to Alan Ward – classic tractor and classic
car fettler, engineer, and friend. A salute to Alex Rankin my old Saab mate, Robin
Morley for the same and also to James Walshe for his kindness and enthusiasm.
Likewise to Richard Gunn. A salute also to Tom Donney and his Saabs in the
USA. Thanks are due to my Citroën DS-owning grandfather Tom, and to my car
enthusiast father Francis. And for her patience and support, thanks are due my
wife Anna, who tolerates the memorabilia and the wallowing in nostalgia.
Photographic Notes: Unless stated otherwise, all photographs are by the
author. Please note: The author Lance F. Cole has no connection to ‘Lance Cole
Photography’ or such named website or entity.
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P5.indd 8 07/02/20 6:43 AM
INTRODUCTION
J-P Wimille’s Bugatti T59/50B on the start line at Prescott when it arrived for display at the
Bugatti Trust Museum, returning to Prescott after eight decades.
Classic_Car_Museum_Guide_P3.indd 9 26/12/19 4:24 PM