Beaulieu: Motor Museum awarded £226k grant by Heritage Lottery Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund handout will help the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu transform the main exhibition hall, which was built more than 50 years ago.

Museum bosses are planning to improve the entrance, enhance the welcome area, and create a new Ages of Motoring Gallery.

The heritage fund grant will also support the Learning team deliver an ambitious outreach programme.

The National Motor Museum has been awarded a £226k grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (Image: Newsquest.)

Over the next two years, the attraction will work with local community groups, exploring motoring themes relevant to contemporary audiences and addressing any gaps in how Beaulieu tells the story of motoring.

Chief executive Jon Murden said: "We are delighted that the museum will receive this support thanks to money raised by National Lottery players.

"The funding will enable the museum to develop new and imaginative ways of sharing the story of motoring through our collections, demonstrating the way motoring affects the lives of almost everybody and shapes society.

"The heritage fund support allows us to take the vital first steps in our masterplan to reimagine the museum and its collections centre.”

The National Motor Museum has been awarded a £226k grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (Image: Newsquest.)

Museum chiefs are planning to transform the entrance and the first galleries visitors walk through. New displays will explain the origins of the museum and its links to motoring pioneers.

The Ages of Motoring exhibition will outline the development and social history of cars and motorcycles from the 19th century onwards.

Dr Murden said: "The project will breathe new life into our vehicle displays and our interpretation of motoring heritage, presenting it in a fresh and exciting way.

"The entrance will be transformed, creating a more welcoming and accessible experience for visitors."

The museum recently staged an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who (Image: National Motor Museum)

Benedick Swann, the museum's head of learning, added: "The story of motoring touches all areas of society. This exciting project aims to broaden the appeal of our collections and add new voices to the interpretation through long-term outreach and community partnership work."

Edward, Lord Montagu, who died in 2015, opened the family's ancestral home, Palace House, to the public in 1952.

Five classic vehicles were displayed in the entrance hall as a tribute to his late father, John Montagu, who in 1899 drove the first car to enter the yard of the House of Commons.

The number of cars on show to the public grew over the years, resulting in the creation of the National Motor Museum in 1972.