Visitors will be able to look around themed rooms inside Palace House, along with an exhibition exploring cars from the past which hold fond memories at the National Motor Museum.
The themed rooms at Beaulieu’s Palace House in Hampshire were once part of Edward, Lord Montagu’s private apartment. Ten years after his passing, his son has opened the refurbished rooms to the public.
The refurbishment was completed in collaboration with the interior design department at Solent University in Southampton. Furnishings from Palace House were restored and up-cycled where possible, while local craftspeople contributed to the project.
Among the newly refurbished rooms are the Heraldry Room, commemorating some of Lord Montagu’s ancestors with heraldic shields photographed from a hand-painted scroll reworked and arranged chronologically around the top of the walls.
Elsewhere, the Meadow Room has been designed with painted rose trees filling the arched recesses on each side of the bed and birds around blue skies at the top of the walls.
The Motor Room has been created by Lord Montagu as a personal tribute to his father, the founder of the National Motor Museum. The walls are lined with a wallpaper with two vintage tyre tread patterns and various items of motoring art are hung. A bookcase contains motoring books written by the late Lord Montagu and the room contains other transport relics, including a variety of model cars and a pair of lamp stands made from old brass car horns.
National Motor Museum exhibition
Along with the newly refurbished rooms in Palace House, Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum has launched a new interactive exhibition, We Had One Of Those.
The exhibition takes visitors on a trip down memory lane, celebrating the cars, gadgets, and everyday objects that shaped life from the 1960s and beyond.
Groups will be able to get up close to a collection of motoring icons from the past, including the Morris Minor, Austin Allegro and classics like the original VW Beetle, the Vauxhall Cavalier and the Ford Mondeo.
The exhibition actively encourages visitors to get involved with the cars; open the doors, sit in the seats, get their hands on the steering wheels and interact with the retro buttons and dials.
Head of visitor experience & operations, Jon Tee said: “We Had One of Those is more than just a motoring attraction at Beaulieu. Whether you’re reminiscing about childhood road trips or introducing younger generations to the past, this attraction is sure to spark fond memories and create new ones. We really welcome visitors to interact with the cars in every way possible and share with us their memories of the past.”
Visiting Beaulieu as a group
You can see the new bedrooms and bathrooms at Palace House as part of a group ticket to Beaulieu, which also includes entry to the National Motor Museum with its collection of more than 285 vehicles and new exhibition, Beaulieu Abbey and the grounds and gardens.
Groups of up to 20 people can enjoy a tour or Palace House, which tells the story of life above and below stairs in the ancestral home of the Montagu family. Learn its history, from its monastic origins to the present day, as well as the lives of past generations who have lived and worked there.
For more information about group visits to Beaulieu go to beaulieu.co.uk/groups.
