National Motor Museum

The National Motor Museum stands in Beaulieu, a village in the New Forest in Hampshire. It began in 1952 as a small display of five cars in the front hall of Palace House, the ancestral home of the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu. The collection grew quickly and moved into wooden sheds before a purpose-built museum opened in 1972. The Duke of Kent performed the opening ceremony on 4 July 1972. The museum became a charitable trust and adopted its current name to reflect its national role in celebrating British motoring. The museum holds around 300 vehicles from the late 19th century to the present day. Its collections include books, journals, photographs and films, totalling more than 1.9 million items. The museum is recognised by Arts Council England as holding nationally and internationally important collections. Visitors can see early motor carriages, classic saloons, racing cars and land speed record breakers. Temporary exhibitions cover Formula 1, 1950s to 1970s culture and TV and film cars. The site also includes Palace House and Beaulieu Abbey, with parts of the monastery still in use. The National Motor Museum Monorail runs through the building, inspired by a light railway at Expo 67. Other attractions include a veteran bus ride, playground and restaurant. A new gallery, “Driven: Britain’s Motoring Story,” opened in 2026 to tell the story of British motoring.