Housed in the former Rolls-Royce Light Alloy Foundry, the Great Northern Classics building itself has an incredible history. Constructed in the 1930s, it once produced components for the Merlin engines that powered Spitfires, Lancasters, and Hurricanes. Today, it’s been turned into part museum, part workshop, part classroom, and full petrolhead paradise!
When Nick and I recently visited Great Northern Classics, we were given a behind-the-scenes tour by Founder and Director, Shaun Matthews. Walking around with Shaun was an interesting experience as I didn’t realise quite how much goes on in the historic building. The biggest takeaway for me was that there are multiple businesses based at Great Northern Classics and, although they all work independently, there is an extremely strong working relationship between all of them.
For example, if a car is being dry ice blasted and the guys from Polar Dry Ice find an issue with the mechanical side of things, they can refer to CS Automotive, which is just down the corridor, to get the car in perfect shape, ready for the customer.
You’ll also find Iconic Auctioneers based there as well as Glow Smith – an automotive candle shop, Auto RaRa, who look after restorations and restomods, all the way through to a workshop reserved for members of the Rolls-Royce Employees Motor Club.
Keeping Traditional Skills Alive
As a company that has been involved with classic car restoration for two decades, we know very well how difficult it can be to bring the younger generation into the industry. Obviously, the automotive industry is going through huge changes, but it’s probably more important now than ever before to keep traditional automotive skills alive.
Remit Training is based at Great Northern Classics and trains apprentices in skills around all types of vehicles. Nick and I were shown the classroom area, and it was certainly not your standard classroom. HGVs were parked in bays being worked on by the trainees, and there were even electric lorries there to help future-proof the apprentices’ skills.
A big feature of the classroom area is the original crane built by Henry Royce himself before he went on to meet Charles Rolls. To enter the classroom area, you have to walk underneath the crane, and it is a very special thing to see.
Automotive Community
There is also a strong community based around Great Northern Classics. They host car meets, shows, and events that are all free to attend. Being such an important site in automotive and engineering history, getting people to experience it first-hand and understand what has happened there, but also how that history can help shape the future of our industry, is so important.
As someone who came into the classic car world later in life, I find places like this extremely interesting. I think they show that history isn’t just something you read about, but it can actually be something you can touch, restore, and drive.
More to come in the next issue of Driver Magazine (out in August 2025)
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