Brooklands - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brooklands was a 2.75 miles (4.4 km) motor racing

Auto racing

Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...

circuit and aerodrome

Aerodrome

An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...

built near Weybridge

Weybridge

Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...

in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields. The circuit hosted its last race in 1939, and is today home for the Brooklands Museum

Brooklands Museum

Brooklands Museum is an independent charitable trust, established in 1987, whose aim is to conserve, protect and interpret the unique heritage of the Brooklands site. It is located south of Weybridge, Surrey and was first opened regularly in 1991 on of the original 1907 motor-racing circuit...

, a major aviation and motoring museum, as well as a venue for vintage car, motorcycle and other transport-related events.

History

The Brooklands circuit was the brainchild of Hugh Locke-King, and was opened on 17 June 1907 as the first purpose-built banked motor race circuit in the world. Following the Motor Car Act 1903

Motor Car Act 1903

The Motor Car Act 1903 introduced registration of motor cars and licensing of drivers in the United Kingdom and increased the speed limit.-Context:...

, Britain was subject to a blanket 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit on public roads: at a time when nearly 50% of the planet's new cars were produced in France, there was a concern that Britain's infant auto-industry would be hampered by the inability to undertake sustained high speed testing.

Apparently drawing inspiration from the development at Brooklands, the Indianapolis Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

was built soon afterwards and held its inaugural race in August 1909.

Requirements of speed and spectator visibility led to the Brooklands track being built as a 100 ft (30.5 m) wide, 2.75 miles (4.43 km) long, banked oval. The banking was nearly 30 feet (9 m) high in places. In addition to the oval, a bisecting "Finishing Straight" was built, increasing the track length to 3.25 miles (5.23 km), of which 1.25 miles (2.01 km) was banked. It could host up to 287,000 spectators in its heyday.

Owing to the complications of laying tarmacadam on banking, and the expense of laying asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

, the track was built in uncoated concrete. This led in later years to a somewhat bumpy ride, as the surface suffered differential settlement over time.

Along the centre of the track ran a dotted black line, known as the Fifty Foot Line. By driving over the line, a driver could theoretically take the banked corners without having to use the steering wheel.

Eleven days after the circuit opened, it played host to the world's first 24 hour motor event, with Selwyn Edge

Selwyn Edge

Selwyn Francis Edge was an Australian businessman, racing driver, and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars.-Personal life:...

leading three specially converted Napier

Napier & Son

D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engine and pre-Great War automobile manufacturer and one of the most important aircraft engine manufacturers in the early to mid-20th century...

cars around the circuit. Over 300 red railway lamps were used to light the track during the night. Flares were used to mark the upper boundary of the track. Edge drove his car for the full duration, with the drivers of the other two cars taking the more familiar shift approach. One of S. F. Edge's leading drivers, Miss Dorothy Levitt

Dorothy Levitt

Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt, was a motorina and sporting motoriste of the early 20th century. On 4 July 1903 she was reported as the first woman ever to compete in a motor race...

, was refused entry despite having been the 'first woman to compete in a motor race' in 1903, and holding the 'Ladies World Land Speed Record'. Women were not allowed to compete for several years.

George E. Stanley

George Enoch Stanley was a British motorcyclist who was a member of ‘The British Motorcycle Racing Club’-History:...

broke the one hour record at Brooklands race track on a Singer motorcycle in 1912, becoming the first ever rider of a 350 cc motorcycle to cover over 60 miles (97 km) in an hour.

The world record for the first person to cover 100 miles (160.9 km) in 1 hour was set by Percy E. Lambert

Percy E. Lambert

Percy Edgar Lambert was the first person to drive an automobile a hundred miles in an hour.-World record:The record was set at Brooklands on 15 February 1913 when driving his 4.5 litre sidevalve Talbot. He actually covered 103 miles and 1470 yards in sixty minutes...

at Brooklands, on 15 February 1913 when driving his 4.5 litre sidevalve Talbot

Talbot

Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...

. He actually covered 103 miles, 1470 yards (167.1 km) in 60 minutes. A contemporary film of his exploits on that day can be viewed at the Brooklands Museum

Brooklands Museum

.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Brooklands closed to motor racing and was requisitioned by the War Office. Vickers

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

Aviation Ltd set up a factory in 1915, and Brooklands soon became a major centre for the construction, testing and supply of military aeroplanes.

Motor racing resumed in 1920 after extensive track repairs and Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...

was established at Brooklands in 1926 by Henry Segrave

Henry Segrave

-External links:* * * * *...

, after his victories in the 1923 French Grand Prix

1923 French Grand Prix

The 1923 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Tours on July 2, 1923.- Classification :-References:...

and the San Sebastián Grand Prix

San Sebastián Grand Prix

The San Sebastián Grand Prix was an automobile race held at the Circuito Lasarte near San Sebastián, Spain.During most of its existence, it was the main race event in Spain, since the Spanish Grand Prix had not yet been properly established as a grand prix race...

the following year raised interest in the sport in Britain. This first British Grand Prix was won by Louis Wagner

Louis Wagner

Louis Wagner was a French race car driver who won the first ever United States and British Grands Prix. Wagner was also a pioneer aviator.Wagner was born in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Seine-Saint-Denis...

and Robert Sénéchal, sharing the drive in a Delage

Delage

Delage was a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953.-History:...

155B. The second British Grand Prix was staged there in 1927 and these two events resulted in improved facilities at Brooklands.

During the late 1930s, Brooklands also hosted massed start cycle racing events organised by the National Cyclists' Union

National Cyclists' Union

The National Cyclists' Union was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain...

(as the sport's governing body, the NCU banned such events from public roads). In 1939, it was used as a location for the Will Hay

Will Hay

William Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...

film, Ask a Policeman
Ask A Policeman
Ask a Policeman is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel which stars Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. The title comes from the popular music hall song Ask a Policeman. The Turnbottom Round police force are threatened with dismissal by their Chief Constable and decide to...

.

When World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

broke out in 1939, motor racing ceased and the site was turned over to war-time production of military aircraft. Some of the track was damaged during this time by enemy bombing and a new access road to the Hawker factory was cut through from Oyster Lane. Other sections were also covered by temporary dispersal hangars. Racing returned to Brooklands for one day in 2009 when the track was recreated in miniature for a slot-car race, as part of a television show.

Brooklands Aerodrome

Brooklands also became one of Britain's first airfields. In 1908 it witnessed the first taxiing and towed flight trials of a British full-size powered aircraft by a British pilot, Alliott Verdon-Roe. In the summer of 1910, Hilda Hewlett

Hilda Hewlett

Hilda Beatrice Hewlett was the first British aviatrix to earn a pilot's licence. She was also a successful early aviation entrepreneur. She created and ran the first flying school in the United Kingdom. She also created and managed a successful aircraft manufacturing business which produced more...

and Gustave Blondeau opened Britain's first flying school at Brooklands. Hewlett and Blondeau also started their aircraft manufacturing company, Hewlett & Blondeau Limited

Hewlett & Blondeau

Hewlett & Blondeau was a manufacturer of aeroplanes and other equipment based in Leagrave, Luton, England which produced more than 800 aeroplanes and employed up to 700 people.-History:...

, on site before moving to larger premises at Leagrave

Leagrave

For other uses see Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire in the northwest of the town. Connected by train from Leagrave station into London and Bedford by First Capital Connect...

, Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

. In February 1912, Thomas Sopwith

Thomas Sopwith

Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS was an English aviation pioneer and yachtsman.-Early life:...

opened his Sopwith School of Flying and, that June, Sopwith, with several others, set up the Sopwith Aviation Company

Sopwith Aviation Company

The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel...

here, although their main premises were at Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

. Blériot

Blériot Aéronautique

Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few cyclecars from 1921 to 1922.After Louis Blériot became famous for being the first to fly over the English Channel in 1909, he established an aircraft manufacturing company. This company really took...

, Martinsyde, and Vickers

Vickers

later produced military aeroplanes at Brooklands which became Britain's largest aircraft manufacturing centre by 1918. Many flying schools operated here before 1914 and the aerodrome became a major flying training centre between the wars.

Brooklands Aviation was formed in 1935 as a holding company to operate the aerodrome, and commissioned British airport architect Graham Dawbarn to design the Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

Brooklands Aero Clubhouse, which opened in May 1932. The company also operated the local flying school, as well as those at Lympne

Lympne Airport

Lympne Airport , , was a military and later civil airfield at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returning from, France during the First World War...

, Shoreham

Shoreham Airport

- Sussex Police Air Operations Unit :The Sussex Police Air Operations Unit is headquartered at Shoreham Airport. The unit has been equipped since February 2000 with a MD Explorer, registered as "G-SUSX". The unit is headed by a Police Inspector, assisted by a Police Sergeant and two Police...

and Sywell Aerodrome

Sywell Aerodrome

Sywell Aerodrome is the local aerodrome serving Northampton, Wellingborough and Kettering as it is situated midway between these towns. The airport is located northeast of Northampton and was originally opened in 1928 on the edge of Sywell village....

s in the 1930s. Under this arrangement, they won the War Department contract for pilot training for the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. The RAF opened 6 Elementary Flying Training School on 10th June 1935, training pilots with a fleet of 20 de Havilland Tiger Moth

De Havilland Tiger Moth

The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...

s, and in 1937 the RAF Volunteer Reserve School was set up at Sywell with a further 16 training aircraft. During WW2, Brooklands Aviation became a contractor to the Civilian Repair Organisation, repairing various types of damaged aircraft. After ending its RAF flight training duties in 1946, it diversified and built plywood and GRP

Glass-reinforced plastic

Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....

cabin cruiser

Cabin cruiser

A cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft.A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many cabin cruisers can be recovered and towed with a...

boats designed by Alan Eckford, until 1974.

In World War II

World War II

, the site was again used for military aircraft production, in particular the Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

, Vickers Warwick

Vickers Warwick

The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second World War. Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Air Force as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas...

and Hawker Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

and was extensively camouflaged. Trees were also planted into some sections of the concrete circuit to help screen the Hawker and Vickers

Vickers

aircraft factories there. Despite these efforts, the Vickers factory was successfully bombed by the Luftwaffe and extensively damaged on 4 September 1940 with nearly 90 aircraft workers killed and at least 419 injured. The Hawker factory premises were also bombed and damaged two days later, but with no loss of life or serious disruption to Hurricane production. On 21 September 1940, Lt John MacMillan Stevenson Patton of the Royal Canadian Engineers risked his life when he and five others manhandled an unexploded German bomb away from the Hawker aircraft factory at Brooklands and rolled it into an existing bomb crater where it later exploded harmlessly - his bravery was subsequently recognised by the award of the George Cross

George Cross

The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

. The crucial role of Brooklands in the Battle of Britain of 1940 is now explained in a new exhibition at Brooklands Museum.

After the war, the circuit was in poor condition and it was sold to Vickers-Armstrongs in 1946 for continued use as an aircraft factory. New aircraft types including the Viking

Vickers VC.1 Viking

The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...

, Valetta

Vickers Valetta

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1....

, Varsity

Vickers Varsity

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.* Ellis, Ken. Wrecks & Relics. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 21st edition, 2008. ISBN 9-780859-791342....

, Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

, Vanguard

Vickers Vanguard

The Vickers Type 950 Vanguard was a British short/medium-range turboprop airliner introduced in 1959 by Vickers-Armstrongs, a development of their successful Viscount design with considerably more internal room. The Vanguard was introduced just before the first of the large jet-powered airliners,...

and VC10

Vickers VC10

The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...

were next manufactured and delivered from there.

In 1951, construction of a new hard runway required a section of the track's Byfleet Banking to be removed to allow Vickers Valiant

Vickers Valiant

The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the Royal Air Force's V bomber nuclear force in the 1950s and 1960s...

V-bombers to be flown out to nearby Wisley

Wisley

Wisley is a small village in Surrey, England. It lies between Cobham and Woking. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village....

. This aerodrome offered a longer runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

and less built-up surroundings than Brooklands.was built as a flight test centre for Vickers in 1944 and used until 1972 (latterly by the BAC

British Aircraft Corporation

The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...

).

After considerable expansion with increasing commercial success in the 1950s, the Vickers factory became part of the new British Aircraft Corporation

British Aircraft Corporation

in 1960 and went on to design and build the BAC TSR.2

BAC TSR-2

The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation for the Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and early 1960s...

, One-Eleven and major parts for Concorde

Concorde

Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...

. The factory contracted in size in the mid-1970s, became part of the newly-formed British Aerospace

British Aerospace

British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...

in 1977 and finally closed in 1988-89 although BAE Systems

BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

still retain a logistics centre there today.

In 1987 the site also become home to the Brooklands Museum

Brooklands Museum

, which is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the site's heritage. As well as organising numerous aviation, motoring and other Brooklands-related events since the mid-1980s, the Museum also staged regular fly-ins for visiting light aircraft from 1990 to 2003 using the Northern half of the original tarmac runway and staffed these events with an all-volunteer team.

Brooklands made a notable TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

appearance when it featured in the 1990 'The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim' episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...

, when Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...

investigates a crime committed involving a racing driver. The banking of Brooklands was also used as a 'road location' in an episode of The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

where the CID foiled an armed robbery and resulted in a 'shoot out'. American car enthusiast Barry Meguiar (President and CEO of Meguiar's) has featured the Brooklands on his Speed Channel

SPEED Channel

Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...

show Car Crazy
Car Crazy
Car Crazy is a Speed Channel television series about automotive enthusiasts, hosted by Barry Meguiar, President and CEO of the Meguiar's car care product empire. Each episode features various interviews with automotive enthusiasts, which Barry refers as 'car guys'...

.

In early 2004 the central area of Brooklands including the hard runway and parts of the remaining racetrack was sold to DaimlerChrysler

DaimlerChrysler

Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...

UK Retail and Mercedes-Benz World

Mercedes-Benz World

Mercedes-Benz World is a facility at the Brooklands motor racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. It opened on 29 October 2006.Mercedes-Benz World has five courses for learning advanced skills and trying out an AMG....

opened to the public on 29 October 2006. This development incorporates a vehicle test tracks and an off-road circuit and includes a conference centre and extensive Mercedes-Benz showrooms.

Following significant earlier work by The Brooklands Society (which is entirely independent of Brooklands Museum), certain buildings (including the 1907 BARC

British Automobile Racing Club

The British Automobile Racing Club is one of biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom.-History:The Cyclecar Club was formed in 1912, running races for the small and light motorbike powered vehicles at Brooklands as well as rallies and sporting trials. Among the founder...

Clubhouse, the 1911 Flight Ticket Office and the 1932 Brooklands Aero Clubhouse), structures and remaining sections of the track first became the subject of preservation orders in the mid 1970s and this legal protection was reviewed by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

and increased by the DCMS

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....

in 2002). A draft Brooklands Conservation Plan was instigated by English Heritage and prepared in 2003 by DCUK consultants Terence O'Rourke

Terence O'Rourke

Terence O'Rourke is an award winning town planner.-External links:*...

and is currently being revised and updated.

Brooklands Centenary

Brooklands motor course celebrated its centenary on 16/17 June 2007. Throughout 2007, various special events were organised by Brooklands Museum in order to celebrate its 100th birthday. Events included use of the Byfleet banking for the first time in nearly 70 years, a Formula One car demonstration by Mclaren-Mercedes, driven by Gary Paffett

Gary Paffett

Gary Paffett is a British racing driver in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He is also a test driver for the McLaren Formula One team. Paffett progressed through the ranks of karting and junior formulae in the United Kingdom, winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 1999...

in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

World and a 24-hour slot car race to commemorate S.F. Edge's achievement of driving for 24 hours averaging over 100 mph (161 km/h).

Present day

Modern companies based at Brooklands today include Argos

Argos (retailer)

Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...

, BAE Systems

BAE Systems

, Currys

Currys

Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...

-PC World

PC World (retailer)

PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....

, Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

, abbreviated JT, is a cigarette manufacturing company. It is part of the Nikkei 225 index. In 2009 the company was listed at number 312 on the Fortune 500 list. The company is headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo. The international headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.-History:The company...

, Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer

Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...

, Mercedes-Benz World

Mercedes-Benz World

, Mothercare

Mothercare

Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

, Nomalites, Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

, Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

, The Storage Pod, Tesco

Tesco

Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

and John Lewis

John Lewis (department store)

-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...

.

Brooklands Museum houses many historic aircraft including the Vickers Wellington bomber recovered from Loch Ness in 1985, a British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

Concorde

, G-BBDG

G-BBDG

G-BBDG was the third British production Concorde built for evaluation testing. Along with the French Concorde F-WTSB, the aircraft was used to enable sufficient testing to allow for the Concorde fleet to receive certification...

, the UK's first production Concorde, and more recently the 40% scale model "G-CONC" gate guardian

Gate guardian

A gate guardian or gate guard is a withdrawn piece of equipment, often an aircraft, armoured vehicle, artillery piece or locomotive, mounted on a plinth and used as a static display near to and forming a symbolic display of "guarding" the main entrance to somewhere, especially a military base...

from Heathrow. There are also many other civil and military aircraft on display including a Vickers Vanguard

Vickers Vanguard

, Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

, VC10

Vickers VC10

. The majority of these exhibits were built at Brooklands or have close associations with the site. The VC10 was built and first flown at Brooklands and after airline service with British United and later British Caledonian Airways, became the official VIP transport for the Sultan of Oman

Sultan of Oman

-List of Imams :-Nabhan Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Banu Ghafir Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Al Said Dynasty :-See also:...

until retired in July 1987 and donated by the Sultan of Oman's Royal Flight.

Although the Circuit is no longer driveable, it can still be simulated in the Spirit of Speed 1937
Spirit of Speed 1937
Spirit of Speed 1937 is a racing video game developed by Broadsword Interactive and published by both Acclaim Entertainment for the Dreamcast and by Microprose for PC. The game was released in North America on June 29, 2000...

game for the PC and Sega Dreamcast

Sega Dreamcast

The is a 128-bit video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 in Japan and from September 1999 in other territories. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube.Dreamcast sales were...

, in which it was re-created in detail. Several other video games also feature Brooklands and Brooklands Museum's Formula 1 simulator also features a detailed computer simulation of the pre-war race track.

In 2009, BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...

presenter James May

James May

James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....

announced plans to recreate the full length Brooklands using Scalextric

Scalextric

Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...

track and cars. This was undertaken with a team of 350 volunteers building the track from an uncounted number of pieces of Scalextric track, navigating ponds and roads, closely following the route of the old Brooklands track. This event broke the Guinness World Record for the longest ever Scalextric track in the world, intended to measure the original 2.75 miles (4.4 km) of the original Brooklands circuit but in reality recording 2.95 miles (4.7 km) in length (due to the need to navigate modern features that block the original course). The episode was shown on BBC2 on 17 November 2009 as part of James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories is a television series presented by James May. The series was commissioned for BBC Two from Plum Pictures. The first episode, "Airfix", was shown on BBC Two at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 27 October 2009....

.

BBC TV's Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979...

filmed at Brooklands Museum in July 2009 and subsequently produced two programmes for the latest series - these being first broadcast on 10th and 17th January 2010.

People associated with Brooklands

D. G. 'Dizzy' Addicott
J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
Woolf Barnato
Woolf Barnato
Joel Woolf Barnato was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.-Early life:...
Diana Barnato Walker
Diana Barnato Walker
Diana Barnato Walker MBE FRAeS was an English aviatrix and horse rider, the first British woman to break the sound barrier.-Biography:...
R. Harold Barnwell
Tim Birkin
Bill Boddy
Bill Boddy
William "Bill" Boddy, MBE was a British journalist who was the editor of Motor Sport from 1936 to 1991. He contributed regularly to Motor Sport magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty-one years.-Career:...
G R 'Jock' Bryce
Redvers Buller
Redvers Buller
General Sir Redvers Henry Buller VC GCB GCMG was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
P.W.S. 'George' Bulman
Sydney Camm
Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
John Cobb
John Cobb (motorist)
John Rhodes Cobb was a British racing motorist. He made money as a director of fur brokers Anning, Chadwick and Kiver and could afford to specialise in large capacity motor-racing...
Samuel Franklin Cody
Duncan Davis
Bert Denley
Freddie Dixon
Freddie Dixon
Frederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. He was the designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system. He was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been successful on two, three and four wheels. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star...
Kaye Don
Kaye Don
Kaye Don was a world record breaking car and speedboat racer who became a motorcycle dealer on his retirement from road racing and set up Ambassador Motorcycles.-Biography:...
George R Edwards
George E. Stanley
George E. Stanley
George Enoch Stanley was a British motorcyclist who was a member of ‘The British Motorcycle Racing Club’-History:...
George Eyston
George Eyston
- References :*...
Claude Grahame-White
Frank Halford
Frank Halford
Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS was an English aircraft engine designer.-Career:Educated at Felsted, In 1913 he left the University of Nottingham before graduating to learn to fly at Brooklands and Bristol Flying School and became a flight instructor using Bristol Boxkites.He served in the...
E.R. Hall
E.R. Hall
Edward "Eddie" Ramsden Hall was an English racing driver. He was born in Milnsbridge into a wealthy Yorkshire family in 1900, the heir to a successful textiles business which funded his motor racing and other sporting exploits...
R.C. Handasyde
Harry Hawker
Harry Hawker
Harry George Hawker MBE, AFC, was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft.-Early life:...
Hilda Hewlett
Hilda Hewlett
Hilda Beatrice Hewlett was the first British aviatrix to earn a pilot's licence. She was also a successful early aviation entrepreneur. She created and ran the first flying school in the United Kingdom. She also created and managed a successful aircraft manufacturing business which produced more...
Johnny Hindmarsh
John Stuart Hindmarsh
John Stuart Hindmarsh , also known as Johnny Hindmarsh, was an English racecar driver and aviator.Hindmarsh was educated at Sherborne, Dorset and then attended the Royal Military College...
Percy E. Lambert
Percy E. Lambert
Percy Edgar Lambert was the first person to drive an automobile a hundred miles in an hour.-World record:The record was set at Brooklands on 15 February 1913 when driving his 4.5 litre sidevalve Talbot. He actually covered 103 miles and 1470 yards in sixty minutes...
Hugh F. Locke King
Lord Lonsdale
Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale
Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, KG, GCVO was an English nobleman.-Biography:The second son of the 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, he succeeded his brother, the 4th Earl, in 1882. Lord Lonsdale was an avid sportsman and bon vivant and was known by some as "England's greatest sporting gentleman"...
Lord Montagu
John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu
John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu , was a British Conservative politician and promoter of motoring....
Kishichiro Okura
Ron R. Paine
J.G. Parry-Thomas
J.G. Parry-Thomas
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
Louis Paulhan
Louis Paulhan
Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan, was a pioneering French aviator who in 1910 flew "Le Canard", the world's first seaplane, designed by Henri Fabre....
Adolphe Pegoud
Adolphe Pegoud
Adolphe Célestin Pégoud was a well known pre-war French aviator who became the first fighter ace.Pégoud served in the French Army from 1907 to 1913...
Kay Petre
Kay Petre
-Racing Carrer:Born Kathleen Coad Defries in Toronto, Canada, she came to England in her twenties, where she married aviator Henry A Petre in 1929. Kay Petre was a star at the legendary Brooklands track, and the exploits of this 4' 10" lady caused a media sensation at the time. The abiding image of...
Rex Pierson
Henry Segrave
Henry Segrave
-External links:* * * * *...
Beatrice Shilling
Beatrice Shilling
Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng was an aeronautical engineer who was responsible for correcting a serious defect in the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine during the Second World War. She also was a well-known racing motorcyclist....
Fred Sigrist
Thomas Sopwith
Thomas Sopwith
Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS was an English aviation pioneer and yachtsman.-Early life:...
Joseph 'Mutt' Summers
Prince Francis of Teck
Prince Francis of Teck
Prince Francis of Teck, GCVO, DSO , was a member of the British Royal Family, the brother of Queen Mary....
Brian Trubshaw
Brian Trubshaw
Ernest Brian Trubshaw, CBE, MVO was a notable test pilot, and the first British pilot to fly Concorde, in April 1969....
Alliott Verdon-Roe
Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
Ann Welch
Ann Welch
Ann Courtenay Welch OBE, née Edmonds, was a pilot who received the Gold Air Medal from Fédération Aéronautique Internationale for her contributions to the development of four air sports - gliding, hang gliding, paragliding and microlight flying.As a child, Ann Welch kept a diary listing every...

(née Douglas)
The Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
Count Louis Zborowski
Louis Zborowski
Count Louis Zborowski was a racing driver and automobile engineer.-Biography:His father, Count William Eliot Morris Zborowski was also a racing driver, and died in a racing crash, in 1903 at La Turbie Hillclimb in France near Nice...
Francis Beart

External links

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