Now owned by the
National Trust Hardwick Hall is situated on a hilltop between Chesterfield and
Mansfield, and is found at the end of one of the longest drives I’ve ever seen.
The windows are exceptionally large and numerous for the 16th century and were
a powerful statement of wealth at a time when glass was still a luxury.
The Club’s Concours
is the major annual gathering of Bristol cars and their owners and is centered
around the judging of cars in various categories. This year Neil was
press-ganged into being a judge by Events Coordinator Turplin Dixon. This was
done in the nicest way possible – no pound coin found in the bottom his latte –
and Neil found himself judging 2 classes under the welcome guidance of
experienced judge Richard Baines – the Anthony Crook Trophy for Types 400, 402,
403 and the Elite Trophy for previous Concours winners - won by Kenneth Andren
with his Arnolt Bristol (pictured).
We travelled up to
Derbyshire the day before and I was grateful that Neil kept the speed to about
60mph to run-in my newly rebuilt engine. We met Churchill and his owners,
Stuart and Tracey, at our hotel and parked a discrete distance from the other
cars in the car park. Stuart was up at the crack of dawn polishing and Neil
joined him at a more civilized hour but still managed a good hour’s polishing
before breakfast.
Bristol Cars, now
owned by the Frazer-Nash group, played an active part by providing a marquee
with high-quality catering laid on throughout the day. As well as being a very
generous gesture, this was taken as a welcome indication of Bristol Cars’
desire to become more closely involved with the Club. Indeed a brief
conversation Neil had with Julian Ramshaw, General Manager of Bristol Cars, confirmed
their strong commitment to the company’s heritage.
Whether this almost
literal ‘buttering up’ of Bristol owners translates to more work for the
service centre, or purchases of the yet to be announced new model remains to be
seen!
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