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Name : The Birtish Motor Museum
Adress : British Motor Museum Banbury Road,
Gaydon, Warwickshire, CV35 0BJ
Web site : https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/
e-mail : enquiries@britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Tel +(44) 01926 895300
Opening / Hours : Open Daily, 10am - 5pm
The Museum Story ( fredit : the museum web site )
The British Motor Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of historic British Cars; it boasts over 400 cars in its collection which span the classic, vintage and veteran eras.
Situated in the small village of Gaydon, Warwickshire, just off junction 12 of the M40. The Museum building is a spectacular piece of architecture with an art deco design, whilst the Collections Centre building is a modern contrast. Together they stand proudly in a beautifully landscaped setting of 65 acres, which rolls out onto the Warwickshire countryside.
Background
The Museum opened in 1993 as the amalgamation of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust’s preserved car collection.
The Trust decided that the car collection and artefacts were outgrowing its then two locations, Studley in Warwickshire and a museum in Syon Park in London. A dedicated purpose-built residence was needed to give the collection pride of place and open for public viewing.
It was the Trust’s mission to keep the memory of the British motor industry alive and to tell its story to all, starting from the beginning of the 20th Century to present day. So a building was designed that not only housed the cars and its extensive motoring archive, but also had educational and conference facilities thus ensuring its sustainability. The Heritage Motor Centre, as it was first known, opened in May 1993.
2006/7 Museum Redevelopment
Always keen to keep the Museum current and a leader in its field, in 2006 the Trust was awarded a Heritage Lottery grant of £1.3 million pounds to further enhance the Museums displays and interpretation.
“We carried out research with the public to find out what they wanted to see in a museum” said project director Tim Bryan. “The results showed that visitors wanted to learn more of what has been hidden away and they wanted to know how cars work under the skin”
This was the inspiration which began the five month project to give the public a Museum that aimed to reach their expectations and more. The result was a number of new exhibitions including “Making British Cars” and “Under the Skin” , all of which are educational and entertaining whether you are a car enthusiast or not!
The most dramatic transformation of the 2006/7 re-development was a new mezzanine floor, which forms a quarter section of the museum and was designed to be a more flexible exhibition space, housing temporary exhibitions.
