History Lover Itinerary

Discover over 800 years of history at Beaulieu. With a medieval abbey, a Victorian styled historic house, a WWII school for spies and much more besides, it’s the perfect historical day out.

NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM

Turn left into Early Motoring to see the oldest vehicle in the museum (the 1875 Grenville Steam Carriage) and then progress through the museum’s many displays before finishing in Driving Change where we imagine the future of the motor car.

Highlights for history fans include:

• 1895 Knight. One of the first purpose-built petrol driven vehicles to run on public roads in Britain.
• 1903 Napier Gordon Bennett. One of the oldest British racing cars. Napiers were all painted green, which was then adopted as Britain’s racing colour.
• 1914 Ford Model T. Widely accepted as the car that brought motoring to the masses. Contrary to popular belief it was available in colours other than black!
• Bluebird CN7. A world-record breaker and the fastest vehicle in the museum at 403.10mph. Bluebird is part of our For Britain & For The Hell Of It display and can be seen alongside three other land speed record-breaking cars.
• 1938 Morris Eight. Features headlamp masks and white edged wings to meet WWII blackout regulations.
• 1961 Honda RC162. Ridden to victory by Mike Hailwood in the 1961 TT, this design made a significant impact on speed and reliability.

For a detailed guide through the museum, please visit the Car Lover Itinerary.

You may be interested in: Women in Motorsport and Social History Blog | National Motor Museum Workshop Blog

PALACE HOUSE

Explore the house at your leisure. Highlights include:

• Entrance Hall. See artefacts from three generations of the Montagu family who lived in Palace House. Don’t forget to look down – the carpet pattern is based on a floor tile from the Beaulieu Abbey ruins!
• The Portrait Gallery. Hung with pictures of Montagu ancestors, including Henry, 3rd Earl of Southampton, patron of William Shakespeare.
• Dining Hall. Once part of the monastic Great Gatehouse. The huge table that dominates the room originally stood in the servants’ hall at Ditton Park and is made from a single elm tree.
• Victorian Kitchen. See the working Victorian range, original bell board, and the menu board that is written up daily from the kitchen diary of 1889. Find out more about the restoration of the Victorian Kitchen.
• Edward, Lord Montagu’s Library. Includes a partners’ desk, designed for two people to work opposite one another, although with this desk one partner is more equal than the other as the drawers only open on one side!
• Upper Drawing Room & Ante Room. Peer up the ‘secret staircase’, admire the heraldic designs on the stained glass windows, and see if you can guess what’s unusual about the fireplace in the Ante Room.* Among the notable items in these rooms, you’ll find a set of Jacobean chairs, a 17th century Italian ebony and ivory cabinet and a Louis XV bracket clock.

You may be interested in: Palace House Blog | Palace House: One of the first public historic houses | Shakespeare’s Beaulieu

LUNCH

GARDENS

Next, make your way to the Victorian Kitchen Garden to discover what fruit and vegetables the gardeners are growing. The garden has been restored to its 1872 layout and the vine house is home to a dessert grape which has been producing fruit for over 100 years!

Cross over the central path to the Victorian Flower Garden, where you’ll find a Mad Hatter’s tea party-themed topiary display. It’s a little-known fact that Alice Liddell (the real ‘Alice’ in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) visited Palace House for a tea party in 1887 to celebrate the coming of age of the Hon. John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, later 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.

LITTLE BEAULIEU

BEAULIEU ABBEY

Highlights include:

• Abbey ruins. The Abbey Church was once the largest Cistercian building in England. Now the ghostly outlines of the preserved foundations provide an impression of the vast scale of what once stood here.
• The Cloister. Take a moment to pause and reflect here, where monks once studied, read or sat in contemplation. Inhale the aromas from the herb garden, planted with herbs used by the monks in medicine and cooking. If you visit over the summer holidays, you may also see falconry displays here.
• Beaulieu Parish Church. Originally the Choir Monks’ Refectory, this was one of only four monastic buildings to survive. The stained glass is mainly Victorian but the lancet windows are probably unchanged since monastic times and parts of the lectern on the west wall date from the 13th century. Visitors are welcome to enter when services aren’t taking place.
• The Domus and Monastic Life Exhibition. Another surviving building, the Domus was once the living quarters of the lay brothers. Downstairs you’ll find an exhibition which tells the story of the abbey and the monks who lived here. On the upper floor (which is occasionally closed for weddings and functions) you’ll find a series of embroideries depicting the history of the Abbey.
• Abbot’s Mews Exhibition. Learn about the monarchs and noblemen who practiced falconry. King James I was a keen falconer and hunting with birds of prey was a key part of his nine visits to Beaulieu.

SECRET ARMY EXHIBITION

MONORAIL & COFFEE BREAK

ON SCREEN CARS

DEPARTURE

* Stuck? The fireplace in the Ante Room is unusual because it’s situated immediately below a window. Instead of having a central chimneypiece, the smoke is dispersed through flues on each side of the window.

This itinerary is for guidance only. We reserve the right to amend timings without warning as circumstances dictate. Vehicles and exhibits are occasionally removed from display for maintenance, so if you’d like to see something particular please check with us before you visit.

Due to the historic nature of our buildings, some areas of the attraction are unsuitable for wheelchair users. Please see our accessibility page for more details. Our team will be happy to advise on alternative viewing or access points as appropriate.