The National Motor Museum will relocate from its long-time home at the Beaulieu Estate in Hampshire after trustees decided not to renew its 60-year lease.
The charity managing the attraction, the National Motor Museum Trust, announced that it has launched a search for a new location capable of housing its expanding collection of nearly 300 vehicles.
The museum currently attracts more than 350,000 visitors each year to its site within the New Forest. Its current lease at Beaulieu will continue for another four years before expiring.
The decision forms part of a long-term strategy to secure the future of the attraction, which was founded as a charity in 1970 to oversee the vehicle collection previously managed by Beaulieu owner Lord Montagu.
Reasons for the relocation
In a statement, the Trust said: "This strategy is focused on reimagining and reinvigorating the Museum, engaging with new generations of motoring enthusiasts and diverse communities, while developing and preserving the Designated collection for generations to come."
Both the Trust and the Montagu family, who own the Beaulieu estate, agreed that the current site can no longer support the museum's long-term demands due to the growth of the collection.
The Trust aims to expand its community engagement and educational projects in a new home, which will feature a dedicated training centre for heritage engineering apprenticeships.
Trustees said the move will allow the museum to "fulfil its national remit" and "share the stories of motoring heritage more widely than ever before."
Future plans for Beaulieu
Beaulieu Enterprises Limited, the commercial business owning the estate grounds, acknowledged the role played by the Trust while confirming that motoring will remain central to the visitor experience.
The company stated: "motoring is an integral part of the Montagu family history and will continue to have an important place in our Beaulieu visitor experience."
Beaulieu Enterprises confirmed that day-to-day operations will remain unchanged for visitors, and the estate intends to continue operating its own motor museum as it has for more than 70 years.
A significant portion of the display vehicles are owned by the Montagu family or placed on loan, and these will stay at Beaulieu when the Trust relocates.
Scheduled motoring events will proceed without disruption, including the International Autojumble in September. Beaulieu Enterprises added: "While the Trust considers future options away from Beaulieu to achieve the charity’s long-term aims, its lease at Beaulieu continues for another four years. After that time, there is an exciting opportunity to look to the future and reshape how the museum at Beaulieu will look and feel."
Museum collection and artefacts
The museum currently displays roughly 285 vehicles. The collection ranges from early motorised carriages to land speed record cars, Formula One racing machines, and famous television and film vehicles.
Among the exhibits are iconic cars featured on the BBC television series Top Gear during its peak broadcasting years in the 2000s and 2010s.
In addition to vehicles, the institution holds more than 1.9 million individual items, including photographs, books, and historic automobilia recording the development of the British motor industry.
Items within the total collection that belong directly to the Beaulieu estate are expected to remain in the possession of Lord Montagu.
Statements from leadership
Robert MacGregor, chair of the National Motor Museum Trust board of trustees, 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."
MacGregor added: "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."
Lord Montagu 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."
Lord Montagu added: "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 those people enjoy today, with cars remaining very much a part of our identity."
The Trust confirmed it will now "begin exploring potential locations capable of supporting its long-term ambitions while safeguarding its internationally important collection and continuing public access." Visitors to the Beaulieu site will experience no changes while the search for a new venue takes place.
