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National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, U.K.
by David M. Brown
A 13th-century abbey; a 16th-century palace; an
1875 Grenville steam carriage, probably the oldest
running self-propelled passenger-carrying road vehicle;
20th-century land-speed record breakers; and a con-
temporary oversized orange Mini, neither historic nor
fast: The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England,
has assembled these and other automotive thrills into
one must-visit package.
Comprising 250-plus vehicles, the world-famous
collection celebrates 800 years of British history and
almost 140 years of automobiles, from early days to
modern times, including family vehicles, great sports
cars, early motorcycles and commercial vehicles.
At the head of the Beaulieu River, the village of
Beaulieu is in New Forest National Park, near South-
ampton and Bournemouth, two hours from London by
car or train to Brockenhurst, where taxis are available
to the museum.
In April 1952, Edward, Lord Montagu, opened up
his ancestral home, Palace House at Beaulieu, to the
public for the first time. Formerly the Great Gatehouse
for Beaulieu Abbey, built in 1203/04, Palace House has
been home to the Montagu’s since 1538 during the reign
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of Henry VIII, who dissolved the country’s monasteries
as part of the English Reformation.
Edward’s father John, Lord Montagu, was a pio-
neering motorist and founded an early motoring maga-
zine, The Car Illustrated, so he showed a small collection
of five veteran cars in the entrance hall of the house.
“The collection grew from these humble beginnings,
moving to purpose-made buildings in the grounds of
Palace House to become the Montagu Motor Museum,”
says Ben Wanklyn, its public relations executive. In
1972, a 70,000-square-foot building was opened as
today’s National Motor Museum.
Car and Outside-the-Car Experiences
Automotive activities include Jack Tucker’s Garage,
which recreates the sights, sounds and smells of a
typical country garage from the 1930s and the talking
crash test dummy in Driving Change, an interactive
display exploring motoring innovations and tech-
nologies including alternative power in the future.
On Screen Cars displays TV and film favorites
including Del Boy’s Reliant Regal as featured in the
BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and the flying Ford
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