A lamentable season-opener at Amberley Museum

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In its own words, the Amberley Museum 'showcases and preserves the rural, transport, industrial and communications history of the south of England'. Picturesquely set in a former chalk quarry in the South Downs of Sussex, it contains a collection of historic buses, fire engines and GPO vans and a recreation of a 1920s village garage.

The Vintage Car Show—open to cars up to 1955—has always been a great event, one of few these days to attract a reasonable turnout of vintage and even veteran vehicles.

I wasn't planning to attend this year as I was supposed to be on a photoshoot in London with a Cadillac, but a problem with the car forced its cancellation at the last minute. I headed for Amberley with my unexpected free time, a 103-mile round trip from home, thinking the Vintage Car Show would be a jolly old day out.

Visitors: an unwanted nuisance

It didn't quite happen like that. After queueing for admission, I was told by an unapologetic receptionist to clear off because I hadn't prebooked my ticket online. Apparently the fact that "It said so on our website and social media," meant I was in the wrong for supposing that I could turn up, pay money and walk in like at any normal visitor attraction.

Obviously, it doesn't trouble Amberley that some people cannot or do not use a computer, or that, for my part, the nature of my freelance occupation meant prebooking was not an option. If we waste our time and money attempting to visit spontaneously, that's not Amberley's problem. "You've had a hundred-mile drive? You've been supporting us for twenty-five years? You've come here for your son's tenth birthday? We don't care, go home."

There were lots of very cross people being turned away and Amberley must have lost hundreds of pounds of revenue. With that attitude, what damage it must be doing not only to itself, but also to the wider heritage preservation movement. How many long-time supporters will turn their backs on it? How many first-time visitors have been discouraged from taking an interest in our valuable industrial past? We want museums like Amberley to thrive but, so long as it holds its visitors in contempt, it deserves to fail.

A Hollywood star car and Victorian voiturettes

Negativity aside, I found an alternative route into the show. It was notably smaller than in previous years, but a turnout of around a hundred cars was plenty to justify the visit. Cars of the vintage era and earlier might have been better represented, but one outstanding exhibit was a fetching 1929 Lagonda Two-Litre 'Honeymoon Coupé', one of two survivors. A pair of Willys-Knights, a 1926 phæton and a 1931 Model 87 sedan, were conspicuous for their rarity. The sedan was a particularly glamorous attendee, having had a prominent rôle in the 1967 film Bonnie & Clyde.

Season-opening shows have the advantage of witnessing the débuts of cars which have been restored and completed during the winter, and two in particular stood out. Simon Smith's 1938 Oldsmobile sedan is a fine patinated example. It came to Britain in 1945 but has only just returned to the road after he recovered it from a garage in Essex where it had languished for 30 years.

Regular attendee Gordon Cobbold gets credit for exhibiting not only his 'oily rag' 1927 Austin 12/4 Windsor and his 1911 Austin 18/24hp tourer, but also his 1899 Benz Velo, which was one of the first cars registered in Wales. The Benz headed a trio of veterans including a 1902 Oldsmobile Curved Dash and John Wilton's 1899 De Dion Bouton Type D vis-à-vis, another débutante which had spent fifty years off the road.

To end on a happier note, I overheard one young boy remark how beautiful all the old cars were, so there's hope for future yet.

Words and pictures: Zack Stiling
 

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