An agreement has been reached between the Brooklands Museum Ltd and AC Heritage Ltd to allow the restoration of the BARC Members Hill Restaurant, to provide the museum with additional visitor attraction in the form of real time vintage and classic vehicle restoration and construction.
Agreement with Elmbridge Borough Council (Local Authority)and English Heritage hasresulted planning approval for the restoration and continued use of the buildings.
Clearance of the buildings has now been finished and the boards have been removed from the windows, allowing for the first for over 25 years the original appearance of the buildings. Detailed structural surveys are under way to enable a true economic profile to be produced. Work has also been started to make the roof weatherproof and protect the interior from more damage.
Restoration work will be closely monitored by both English Heritage and Brooklands Museum to ensure important aspects of the 90 plus year of buildings are strictly maintained. It will be a sympathetic restoration allowing visitors to be exposed to how the building would have looked its heyday, but now bringing life to true English craftsmanship at its best.
The planned use will allow Museum visitors the opportunity to view vintage and classic car restoration skills on countless marques of vehicles. It will be an evolving attraction, which will also provide historic material from the original AC Car’s factory in Thames Ditton, the legendary S F Edge of MD of AC Cars and J.A Joyce, who set the 1923 Test Hill record of 7.75sec in an early AC.
Original wooden patens have been obtained for the hand made body construction for a number of early AC Cars based on traditional methods. It is planned to build close relationship with Brooklands College and its technology department for student participation in craftsmanship skills based learning.
