Little Classics Feature: 6 April 2015

Stondon Motor Museum Closure in Pictures

STondon Transport Museum Closes

Today, on 6 April, Little Classics visited Stondon Motor Museum in Bedfordshire to see its last day before the doors closed for good and the collection gets scattered.

Stondon Motor Museum was one of the largest private collections of classic vehicles with over 400 exhibits. Founded in 1994 by John Saunders, it was his private collection of 40 vehicles that inspired him to start the museum.

Stondon Motor Museum collection

The collection grew to include classic cars, motorcycles, pushbikes, memorabilia and a few oddities, such as busses, fire engines, missile carrier and even a helicopter. The museum also included over 400 model aircraft (below) built by Reverend Allon Taffs of the nearby Therfield Chapel, who had created the collection over 40 years.

Stondon Museum Model Aircraft

Sadly John Saunders passed away in 2013, but a dedicated group of family and staff ensured the museum remained open, preserving the many collected and donated vehicles. However, over recent years the museum has suffered from high rates, whilst struggling to attract the income and visitors required to maintain such a large collection. After grants have been refused, the museum has now closed.

Stondon Museum misile

All exhibits will be auctioned by Brightwells Auctioneers over two sales on 29 April and 10 June at its site in Leominster, Herefordshire. The exhibits will sell with no reserve.

It’s very sad to see any museum close, so we just hope that the many classic cars and motorcycles find new owners willing to preserve and maintain them. The one silver lining was that the last day delivered a busier crowd than ever before, with even a few extra classics turning up in the car park (below).