Brooklands Museum
From the M25 -When leaving the M25, take the A3 towards London for approx. half a mile and leave by the Painshill junction, taking the A245 towards Byfleet. Follow the brown ‘Brooklands Museum’ signs until you reach the en-trance to Mercedes-Benz World, marked by our Con-corde Gate Guardian. The main visitor entrance of the Museum is reached via Brooklands Drive - follow the road round the back of the Mercedes-Benz World building until you reach the Museum car park.Summer opening hours start from 1st March and end when the clocks change in October.
SUMMER WINTER
10am - 5pm 10am - 4pm
Last admission is one hour before closing. Opening Times may be extended on event days!
Senior (60+) (£13.50)
Brooklands Aircraft Factory - Inside the Bellman Hangar an ‘Aircraft Factory’ environment has been created, harking back to the Hangar’s original use as a manufacturing building. Exhibitions explore the history of aircraft manufacture - from the pioneering early aircraft of wood and fabric, to the supersonic airliner and the technologies of the future.
The Factory Floor is designed to evoke an authentic factory atmosphere and is packed full of activities, enabling visitors to try out aircraft-building skills for themselves, drawing on the Brooklands spirit of experimentation and creating an unique learning experience. The centrepiece of the exhibition is the Loch Ness Wellington, with additional areas focussing on the factory floor in early and later years, life for the factory employees away from work, and displays on the development of Wings, Fuselages and Propulsion.
Access to the Brooklands Aircraft Factory is included in general Museum admission. The exhibition is part of the Re-Engineering Brooklands Brooklands Aircraft Factory and Race Track Revival Project.
Stratosphere Chamber -The Barnes Wallis-designed “Stratosphere Chamber” was built in 1946 to investigate high-speed flight at very high altitudes. It was restored and re-interpreted using a grant of £120,000 from the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Biffa Award Scheme, with a new exhibition highlighting Wallis’ research work for the Vickers aircraft company after 1946. Access to the Brooklands Aircraft Factory is included in general Museum admission. The exhibition is part of the Re-Engineering Brooklands Brooklands Aircraft Factory and Race Track Revival Project.
For many years the Chamber was only able to be viewed in a limited way and much of its operating machinery was disposed of or moved to make way for other developments. However, all the areas surrounding the chamber, including the elevated Control Room and the refrigeration/vacuum plant room, have now been made accessible, giving a ‘backstage’ view of this extraordinary area of industrial heritage.
Also on display in the Stratosphere Chamber building is the Museum’s collection of aero engines ranging from the simplest early piston engines up to advanced turbofan jet engines and, in the Chamber itself, the forward section of a Vickers Vanguard airliner just as it could have been seen on test in the 1950s. Next to the Control Room, the Brooklands Radio Display can be found - see www.brooklandswireless.com for more information.
The intention is that this exhibition will inspire people of all ages, including young people who may be considering careers in science and technology, using the technological achievements of people at Brooklands, both in the days of the motor racing circuit and during the 80 years of aviation on the site. This project will further this aim by sharing the inspirational story of Barnes Wallis, especially now that the extensive archives owned by the Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust have been placed on loan with the Museum and will be available for display and research.
Explore the history of the Stratosphere Chamber
Also on display in the Stratosphere Chamber building is the Museum’s collection of aero engines ranging from the simplest early piston engines up to advanced turbofan jet engines and, in the Chamber itself, the forward section of a Vickers Vanguard airliner just as it could have been seen on test in the 1950s. Next to the Control Room, the Brooklands Radio Display can be found - see www.brooklandswireless.com for more information.
The intention is that this exhibition will inspire people of all ages, including young people who may be considering careers in science and technology, using the technological achievements of people at Brooklands, both in the days of the motor racing circuit and during the 80 years of aviation on the site. This project will further this aim by sharing the inspirational story of Barnes Wallis, especially now that the extensive archives owned by the Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust have been placed on loan with the Museum and will be available for display and research.
Explore the history of the Stratosphere Chamber
Weapons and Missiles -Having been the hub of Barnes Wallis’ secret weapons production during World War 2, weapons development continued at Brooklands during the Cold War era. Engineers at Brooklands developed a range of guided weapons for a variety of purposes during the 1950s and ‘60s. These included cruise missiles, TV-guided bombs, and anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. Vickers also had a team in Australia conducting trials at Woomera using Canberra and B-29 Washington bomber aircraft. Guided weapon development at Brooklands ended when the department was moved to the English Electric site in Stevenage and combined with their existing operations.
Our Guided Weapons exhibition was housed in the Wellington Hangar, where many of them were designed, before its closure as part of the Brooklands Aircraft Factory and Race Track Revival Project. The collection returned to the hangar as part of the new exhibition, the display includes: a Red Dean air-to-air missile, Blue Boar 5,000lb air to ground TV-guided gliding bomb, Red Rapier surface to surface radar-guided missile, Vigilant anti-tank weapon, and Rapier low-level anti-aircraft missile.
Engine Collection -Our aero engine collection, mainly housed in the Stratosphere Chamber building, illustrates over 100 years of development in aviation engines. Many of the exhibits are sectioned or motorised to give an insight into the workings of these feats of engineering.
There are examples of a wide range of engines relating to aircraft with Brooklands history, from the 1909 Anzani 25 hp that propelled Louis Blériot over the English Channel in 1909 to the Rolls-Royce Olympus which carried Concorde to Mach 2. Other highlights are the Rolls-Royce Merlin, which powered some of the most iconic aircraft of the Second World War, and the Rolls-Royce Avon, which powered the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift to World Air Speed records in the 1950s.
Our Concorde
G-BBDG or 'Delta Golf' was the first Concorde to carry 100 passengers at Mach 2. She was used in the early development of Concorde for testing and certification. Delta Golf had a flying life of seven years, from the 13th February 1974 to the 24th December 1981.The Brooklands Concorde was known as a 'production' aircraft, as she was developed from the prototype, and used to complete the majority of certification work specified for airline service. She was never used commercially, but Delta Golf was flown around the World to attract sales from international airlines.
After her final landing on Christmas Eve of 1981, Delta Golf was stored, initially serviceable, in a hangar at Filton. In 1984, British Airways acquired the aircraft, and used her as a source for spare parts for their fleet. Delta Golf was offered to Brooklands in 2003, and, after delivery of major sections of the aircraft in June 2004, a two-year restoration project commenced to recover G-BBDG to her former glory. On the 26th July 2006, Delta Golf was opened to the public at Brooklands Museum by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
Aircraft Collection
Dates in brackets indicate the date the replica was built.
If you are coming to see a specific exhibit, please ring ahead to make sure that it is on display. Call the Museum on 01932 857381
If you are coming to see a specific exhibit, please ring ahead to make sure that it is on display. Call the Museum on 01932 857381
Flight Shed
NEW - The Wellington Walkthrough is now open!
The new two-storey ‘Flight Shed’ has been constructed next to the site of the relocated Bellman Hangar. It is accessed via a footbridge from the upper level inside the Aircraft Factory. The centre piece inside the Flight Shed is the Museum's Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIA which was built in 1940. Other completed aircraft on display include the Hawker Fury, Hunter and Harrier, Sopwith Camel and a virtual Vickers Wellington walkthrough exhibit. A more detailed history of the Hurricane can be found here. Smaller exhibits will tell the stories of the pilots and navigators who flew these aircraft and some of the technological developments that helped them do so. With level access onto the Finishing Straight, these live aircraft will be moved out of the Flight Shed for engine runs and taxying displays.Entry to the Flight Shed is included in general Museum admission. The exhibition is part of the Re-Engineering Brooklands Brooklands Aircraft Factory and Race Track Revival Project.
Engines
de Havilland Gipsy I 1926 On long term display Stratosphere Chamber
Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800 1937 On long term display Stratosphere Chamber
Rolls-Royce Nene 1944 On long term display Stratosphere Chamber
World War Two
Bellman Hangars
Besides being supplied to numerous Royal Air Force airfields in Britain and overseas, Bellman hangars were also supplied by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to aircraft factories including Hawker Aircraft Ltd and Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd at Brooklands. Here they provided valuable extra floor space for the hard-pressed aircraft industry and, most important in wartime, they could also be erected and camouflaged at dispersed locations away from the main factory sites.Click the link to find out more about the construction and use of the Brooklands Bellman Hangars.
WW2 Defence Structures
As a major centre of aircraft production, Brooklands was a clear potential target for enemy attack. To defend against such an event, a series of defences were built around the site which are still visible today.
The largest air raid shelter provision for Vickers workers was in the ‘Sand Pit Shelters’ on the opposite side of Brooklands Road. These shelters were capable of housing over 5,000 people in the event of an attack and were in use throughout the Second World War.
Pillbox -
To defend against a potential attack by enemy paratroopers intent on sabotaging the factory, a pillbox was erected close to the bridge across the River Wey which was used to move aircraft from the factory to the airfield. This is believed to be a unique design with loopholes on the corners and a mounting for a machine gun on the roof.Anti-Aircraft Tower
To defend against attack by enemy aircraft, a series of concrete towers were erected on which 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft guns were mounted. Whilst these guns were unlikely to shoot an enemy aircraft down, they were intended to prevent attacking aircraft from having a clear bombing run.Shelters
The threat of attack by enemy bombers led to the construction of a series of shelters around the Vickers aircraft factory. These include the small shelters at either end of the original location of the Museum’s Bellman Hangar and the small brick structures at the base of the Members Banking, once the site of another Bellman Hangar.The largest air raid shelter provision for Vickers workers was in the ‘Sand Pit Shelters’ on the opposite side of Brooklands Road. These shelters were capable of housing over 5,000 people in the event of an attack and were in use throughout the Second World War.
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