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Britain By Car - A Motoring History

Places Of Interest

It was in 1895 that cars first began to appear on roads in Britain, but the landscape at the time was not particularly suitable for the new machines.
Over the next 100 years, towns and cities throughout Britain (and the countryside, too) were re-shaped with new roads, systems of traffic control, and special new buildings (garages, car parks, service stations etc), all designed to facilitate greater use of the car.

The first, the last, the largest and smallest of these are remembered in this section, as are some of the other places, outside manufacturing and sport, which have played a part in the development of Britain’s motoring history.

Further information

  • Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology, Michael Stratton and Barrie Trinder, E & FN Spon, 2000.
  • Carscapes, the motor car, architecture and landscapes in England, Kathryn A Morrison and John Minnis, Yale University Press, 2012.