Photo courtesy Stondon Auto Museum.
When engineer John Saunders died in 2013, he left behind three children, 10 grandchildren, and the largest private museum in the United Kingdom. For two years, those trusted with the care of the museum tried to keep it open, but flagging attendance forced them to shut it down this week and consign the entire 400-plus-vehicle collection to auction.
Started in 1994 in a former garden center in Bedfordshire, just north of London, the Stondon Motor Museum contained a diverse array of vehicles, from the expected Routemaster double-decker bus and dozens of British cars from the 1950s and 1960s to Russian military trucks, European microcars, a Tuk Tuk taxi, and even a tank. The collection appeared to have no central theme other than what caught the eye of Saunders, whose career ranged from designing and building amphibious campers to selling plastic greenhouses.
Museum curator Maureen Hird told a local newspaper that the museum staff tried applying for grants to keep the museum open, but its requests were denied. “Once we’ve paid the rent and the rates, it doesn’t leave much,” she said.
Cars of the Stondon Motor Museum collection. From left, Fiat 500-based Impala, Replicar Cursor, Volvo Snocat Bandvagn, Green Griffin road roller. Photos courtesy Brightwells.
The museum officially closed April 6 and will send its collection to auction in two waves. The first, scheduled for April 29, will include most of the museum’s 60-plus motorcycle collection, which includes everything from a Norton Commando to a Russian VYPABEU three-wheeled pickup. The second, scheduled for June 10, will auction off the balance of the collection, which includes the aforementioned double-decker bus and Tuk Tuk as well as some even odder vehicles, including a circa 1970 Fiat 500-based Impala, a Volvo Snocat Bandvagn tracked military vehicle, a pair of Replicar Cursors, and a 1967 Greens Griffin road roller.
All of the vehicles from the museum’s collection will sell at no reserve. Both auctions will take place at the Brightwells auction site in Leominster, Herefordshire. For more information, visit Brightwells.com.
(Thanks to AutoMinded for alerting us to the auction.)
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