History of the National Motor Museum

Origins

The origins of the National Motor Museum can be traced back to 1952 when Edward, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu opened Palace House to the Public.  Five veteran cars were displayed in the entrance as a tribute to his father, John, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.

John Scott Montagu was himself a motoring pioneer have campaigned for motorists in Parliament. In 1899 John Scott Montagu drove the first car to enter the yard of the House of Commons at Westminster, his recently acquired 12hp Daimler. In 1902 John Scott Montagu launched the weekly journal: The Car Illustrated and the monthly journal The Car.

The first Motor Museum

By 1956 the display in Palace House had grown and was moved into converted wooden outbuildings to create the first Montagu Motor Museum. The same year, Edward, Lord Montagu followed in his father’s footsteps and launched a motoring periodical, The Veteran & Vintage Magazine.

The Montagu Motor Museum proved very popular and in 1959 it moved into a larger, specially made building. Public interest in old vehicles continued to grow and Montagu Motor Museums were opened in Brighton by 1961 and Measham in the Midlands by 1962. 

The National Motor Museum

In 1972 the Montagu Motor Museum at Beaulieu was replaced by the National Motor Museum as an independent museum backed by a charitable trust: The National Motor Museum Trust. The purpose builg building was pended by HRH The Duke of Kent in July 1972 Enthusiasts had been called for a national museum of motoring since early 1900 and now it had become a reality.

In 2022 the National Motor Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary and launched a new strategy for its future development. This new vision will focus on improving the museum’s spaces, equipment and interpretation for younger visitors, as well as upgrading facilities for the conservation and restoration of over 285 display vehicles. Greater access will also be proved to the Museum’s internationally-acclaimed stored collections of more than 1.9 million items of automobilia. As the world of motoring rapidly changes, so does the National Motor Museum commitment to keep pace to tell its story.