Beaulieu International Autojumble
The Beaulieu International Autojumble is an annual sale of motoring parts and accessories at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. It fills 25 acres of the Beaulieu parkland and runs for two days. It is reputedly the largest autojumble outside of America[1], stallholders and visitors come from all over the world, making the event truly international. It was the first event to be called an 'Autojumble' in The Times in the 60's and in 2003 the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
History[edit]
In 1966 Michael Ware (curator of the National Motor Museum from 1966-1972) approached Lord Montagu with an idea inspired by the famous Hershey Swap Meets[2] in the USA. The event was greatly helped by the Montagu Motor Museum being well known as a venue and the Veteran and Vintage magazine taking the event's advertising and editorial. Extra advertising was also taken in Motorsport which was an extremely popular magazine at the time with enthusiasts for the older cars.
The first event on Sunday 17th September 1967 was just one day and attracted 70 stallholders and 4,933 visitors. The only restriction on items for sale was that they were to be “clearly connected with motoring or motor cycling, and that there must be no complete vehicles offered for sale.”[3]
The first year's advertisement proclaimed:
'A grand event for the buying, selling and swapping of spare parts, accessories and other desiderata for motor cars and motor cycles of all ages... Clubs, private individuals and members of the trade will offer for sale a wide miscellany of parts, including lamps, tyres, horns, motoring books etcetera. A great day of interest to everyone and an opportunity for members of the car fancy to obtain long desired items, and to disencumber themselves profitably of impedimenta.'
Michael Sedgwick, former curator at the National Motor Museum.
The Autojumble became a two-day event in 1979.[4]
In 1995 exhibitors received their first copy of the Beaulieu Autojumble Newsletter 'Bits & Pieces', full of information and advice for stallholders. Produced by the Beaulieu Press Office it grew from 4 pages in '95 to 8 pages in 2006 with advertising first appearing in 1998. 1995 was also the first year an area of the event was devoted to motorcycles and motorcycle parts, with 48 traders in attendance, this was a success and was soon incorporated into the main Autojumble.
In 1997 the fields which had formerly been known as A,B,C and D were renamed and colour coded as Red, Green and Yellow fields with the Grand Marquee designated as Blue.
In 2013 a study by the University of Brighton[5] found that the event brings nearly £3 million business to the local economy, provides direct temporary employment for more than 220 people, is responsible for £11 million turnover for the national economy and contributes at least £570,000 in VAT to government revenue.
Sponsors[edit]
- 1980s - Classic Cars magazine
- 1990s - Practical Classics magazine
- 2007-2012 - Classics Monthly Magazine
- 2013-2018 - Practical Classics magazine
Show Features[edit]
Auctions[edit]
The first 'Sale of Unrestored Motor Cars' was held in 1990 by Christie's Auction House. There were 51 vehicles for sale plus a selection of automobilia. Christie's were replaced by Brooks Auction House in 1998, two years later when Brooks merged with Bonhams the auction became known as 'The Bonhams Sale'.
The 2015 Bonhams Sale offered 93 vehicles and 21 motorcycles of which 85% sold with a total sale price of £3 million.
Items for sale range from councours-ready cars to barn-finds and restoration projects[7] as well as automobilia, art work and other motoring related items.
Automart[edit]
A variety of vehicles for sale from private owners ranging from vintage and veteran cars through to classics and future classics.
Dealermart[edit]
A selection of cars for sale from the classic trade including restoration experts, coachbuilders and classic car dealers.
Grand Marquee[edit]
Originally six smaller marquees around the event housed a number of traders however this was replaced by the 1800sq metre Grand Marquee in 2007 offering a more comfortable and spacious atmosphere for traders.
Trunk Traders[edit]
Following the introduction of Trunk Traders at the Spring Autojumble in 2006, this popular feature was added to the International Autojumble in 2008 and allows amateur sellers to empty their garage of parts.
The Best Stand Award[edit]
Introduced in 1996, the Best Stand Award is presented to the person/persons whose stand best represents the spirit of autojumbling. Since 2010 the Award has been sponsored by Lolly Lee in memory of her late father Terry, a keen autojumbler.
Spring Autojumble[edit]
In 1994 a second Autojumble was introduced into the calendar called the 'Spring Classic Autojumble'. It featured more than 500 stands plus cars for sale in the Automart and an auction of Classic and Collectors Cars on the Saturday. This event is more aimed at the classic car market rather than veteran and, being smaller, allows space for car club displays.
In 2012 a Land Rover Autojumble called the 'Sodbury Sortout' took over a field at the event and has remained since.
Challenges[edit]
Over the years a number of challenges and projects have been undertaken at the International Autojumble, projects have included;
- 2001 - Austin Seven- built by the Austin 750 Club solely from parts bought from the show's 1,800 stands. By lunchtime on the Sunday its engine was installed and running and by 4.30pm it was complete. A raffle for the car named 'Beaulieu' was won by a photographic journalist from France on her first ever visit to the event. The car was exhibited at the National Motor Museum and the the prestigious Rétromobile show in Paris before being handed to its new owner.[8]
- 2003 - Ford Model T- Members of the Ford Model T Register completed the restoration of a 1926 Model T Tourer. The car had been bought earlier in the year from the Tuckett Brothers in a dilapidated but running condition and was stripped down to its component parts for renovation prior to reassembly at the Autojumble. After passing its MOT the car undertook a 900 mile road trip from John O'Groats to Lands End.
- 2006 - Flat Out- Local custom car designer and builder Andy Saunders broke the world record for the world's flattest car. Flat-out was built from scratch over the two day event and reaches a diminutive height of just under 23.6 inches from road to roof.
Special Features[edit]
- 2003 - Build and first drive of Andy Saunder's record-breaking 'Flat Out'
- 2007 - Start-up of John Bolster's 'Bloody Mary', the best-known and probably most successful amateur built sprint and hillclimb Specials of the 1930s. After a 12 year period of disassembly, David Andrews brought her back to life before she went back on permanent display in the National Motor Museum
- 2017 - Start-up of Graham Hill's Lotus 49
Event Awards[edit]
- 2016 - Best Event in the Tourism South East Beautiful South Awards[9]
- 2016 - Best Event in the UK Heritage Awards[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ Goslett, Miles (2007-09-08). "It's Europe's biggest car boot sale". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
- ↑ "Autojumble 2017: It's the swap meet, British style - ClassicCars.com Journal". ClassicCars.com Journal. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
- ↑ Kaminski, J., et al. "Economic impact of the Beaulieu International Autojumble on the New Forest area." The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs in collaboration with The University of Brighton (2013).
- ↑ Jamie Kaminski; Angela M Benson; David Arnold (13 December 2013). Contemporary Issues in Cultural Heritage Tourism. Taylor & Francis. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-1-136-66321-5. Search this book on
- ↑ Kaminski, J., et al. "Economic impact of the Beaulieu International Autojumble on the New Forest area." The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs in collaboration with The University of Brighton (2013).
- ↑ Sports Car Market magazine - February 2008. Keith Martin. pp. 70–. GGKEY:BG9SC6S8LR5. Search this book on
- ↑ "Is This Aston Martin Restoration Project Worth $200,000?". CarBuzz. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
- ↑ Llewellin, Phil (2001-08-31). "Austin Seven challenge". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
- ↑ www.directtourismservices.co.uk, Direct Tourism Services -. "2017 Beautiful South Winners and Highly Commended". www.beautifulsouthawards.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ↑ "Beaulieu International Autojumble bags major award". Daily Echo. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
External Links[edit]
International Autojumble Website
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