In the first half of the Twentieth Century, the motorcar went from being an Edwardian eccentricity to a standard aspect of everyday life for millions of British citizens. With its rapid growth in popularity came seismic changes to the country’s road network and the introduction of a raft of new industries supporting those who used it. A boom in demand for mechanical expertise to service, repair, refuel, and sell saw hundreds of ‘garages’ – taken from the French verb garer meaning ‘to shelter’ – open nationwide. 

226 Old British Garages in an ongoing photographic documentary project centred on the surviving automotive architecture from the period 1900 – 1980.