This popular UK attraction is set to find a new home after 60 years

A popular UK museum beloved by motor enthusiasts is seeking a new home after unveiling major plans to expand its offerings.

The National Motor Museum is currently located in the New Forest village of Beaulieu, where a world-famous collection of cars, motorcycles and motoring memorabilia is displayed.

However, the museum’s trust announced earlier this month that it is exploring potential new locations “capable of supporting its long-term ambitions”.

In its new location, the museum hopes to expand by adding a training centre for heritage and engineering apprenticeships.

The museum’s trust and the Montagu family, which owns the Beaulieu estate, said they have explored ways to achieve these ambitions at its current location, but had concluded that its plans would mean the museum needs a new home.

Robert MacGregor, the chair of the board of trustees of the National Motor Museum Trust, said: “We are sad that the National Motor Museum will be leaving Beaulieu but are at the same time very excited about this once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the museum for the future.

“We want to thank the Montagu family for founding the Trust in 1970 and for their continued support as the museum finds a new home and embarks on the next stage of its journey.

“A new home can refresh our whole approach, enable us to make the collection more accessible, expand our educational and community impact, and ensure Britain’s motoring story remains relevant.”

Among its 280 motors are the flying Ford Anglia from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the Jaguar XKR from the Bond film Die Another Day.

Beaulieu is also known for operating England’s oldest running monorail, which takes visitors on a treetop tour of the museum and the wider grounds.

In a separate statement, the Beaulieu estate said that the day-to-day operation of the museum will not change and intends to keep a motor exhibition in the future, as a significant amount of the vehicles in the museum are either on loan or owned by the Montagu family, and will remain on site. It added that its motoring events will also be unaffected.

The estate also says that the museum trust has another four years on its lease, so no immediate changes will be made.

The Montagu family has owned the Beaulieu estate for over four centuries, and alongside the National Motor Museum, the grounds includes an 11th-century abbey and Palace House, a Gothic country home.

The museum can trace its roots back to Edward, Lord Montagu, who in 1952 displayed five veteran cars in the entrance hall of the Palace House when opening it up to the public for the first time. The display was an ode to his father, John, second Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, who campaigned for motorists in Parliament.

After this, the Montagu Motor Museum would develop and eventually expand to become the National Motor Museum in 1972. Since then, the museum has been governed by an independent charity trust.

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu said: “My father’s underlying ambition was to record and celebrate the story of motoring for the benefit of the nation. He founded the National Motor Museum Trust to do that, but its collections and activities have expanded beyond what anyone at the time envisaged.

“The charity’s long-term aims will now stand the best chance of being achieved if it can be based in a new home. I remain committed to honouring my father’s legacy by continuing to do all I can to support the trust.

“Wherever the National Motor Museum and its collections may be located in the future, Beaulieu will continue to develop as a leading south coast attraction, offering a comparable range of experiences to what people enjoy today, with cars remaining very much a part of our identity.”

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