Montgomery: The Town of Little Cars

Montgomery’s Cloverlands Model Car Museum has hosted its first open day, hailing it as a great success.

The Town of Little Cars welcomed more than 130 visitors to the collection of 3,500 model vehicles. Destination Montgomery development officer, Lesley Long, is eager to promote the open day as an annual event on the town’s calendar.

Gillian Rogers, owner of the original collection and patron of the museum, was on hand to talk to visitors about the story of Cloverlands, which started with two model cars - an Alvis and a Jaguar - given to her on her 12th birthday.

Bruce Lawson, Cloverlands Museum custodian, said: “We had a wonderful day and we were able to spread the word about the collection. All our visitors had a thoroughly enjoyable time and learnt a lot about the collection and the history of the building in which it’s housed. Many people then went off to enjoy the facilities of the town.”

Keen model enthusiasts of all ages were also able to view the marvellously detailed Motor Museum in Miniature Exhibition with its unique display of model road and race cars.

The Motor Museum in Miniature is the creation and lifetime passion of father and son, Rod and Ian Knott from Stafford, who take it on tour to various shows. They enthusiastically shared their extensive knowledge of motor car history with visitors with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of lively anecdotes.

Rod has been making model cars since the 1950s, so some of the museum’s model cars are older than son! He often ‘scratch-builds’ models for the museum, many with intricate details and moving engine parts.  Both Rod and Ian have won numerous awards for their models.

Rod said: “While it is always gratifying to be recognised for our model-making, it is the conversations with friends and the opportunity to help fellow car modellers, and to learn from them in turn, that keeps us coming back to shows.”

Undeterred by the damp and chilly weather, several visitors had made the trip from all corners of Powys, Shropshire and the West Midlands especially to see the display.

Facebook visitor Justin Homer wrote: “Excellent, great hosts with great knowledge. I was made very welcome by all. Superb models of all sizes and types, superb displays, well worth travelling to. Will be returning. Thank you very much.”

Cloverlands Model Car Museum is open on Thursdays (10am-1pm), Fridays (10am-3pm), Saturdays (10am-1pm) and Sundays (2pm-4.30pm) throughout the summer.

To find out more about the museum, visit www.cloverlandsmuseum.org.uk or Facebook @cloverlandsmuseum. You can contact Bruce Lawson on 01686 668004.

PICTURE: Viewing the Museum in Miniature are (from left) Lesley Long, Ian Knott, Gillian Rogers, Max Tomlinson, Karen Macrae, Alden Alexander, Keith Alexander and Rod Knott.