Tour of the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Thanks to Fellow Guy Loveridge, the Heritage Consultant to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, a group of Fellows enjoyed a wonderful behind the scenes visit to the museum and Palace House.

Guy welcomed us all and provided an interesting background to the museum.  He then handed over to Patrick Collins, the Curator of Vehicles and Research who gave us a fascinating tour of the archives, which are closed to the public.

The museum holds around 300 vehicles, however behind the scenes the archives hold approximately 1.9 million items which are classified as being of ‘International Importance ‘and date back to the nineteenth century.

Following the. Visit to the archives Guy gave us an interesting tour of the museum, after which we adjourned to the Montagu Arms for an enjoyable lunch.

After lunch Guy gave us a tour of Palace House, which was originally built as the gatehouse to Beaulieu Abbey in the 13^th century, before we all departed for home.

Our thanks go to David Stevens for organising the day and Guy Loveridge for providing us with such a fascinating and privileged tour of Beaulieu which was hugely appreciated by everyone.