In the first half of the Twentieth Century, the motorcar evolved from being an Edwardian eccentricity to a standard aspect of everyday life. With its rapid growth in popularity came seismic changes to the British 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 motorised vehicles saw hundreds of ‘garages’ – taken from the French verb garer meaning ‘to shelter’ – open nationwide.

 Many of these early examples were humble utilitarian structures or repurposed existing buildings, while others embraced the evolving architectural fashions of the Twentieth Century. The result is a disparate collection of buildings with the motor car being the sole unifying factor. Indeed, in some cases the only thing visually connecting one garage to the next would be the exterior signage.

 With the glamour and novelty of early motoring a distant memory, and the age of the combustion engine drawing to a close, now seemed like an appropriate time to make a visual record of some surviving historic automotive structures. This book showcases 226 examples – a nod to Ed Ruscha’s seminal 1963 book Twentysix Gasoline Stations – photographed across Great Britain over a six-year period.

 It is not intended to be a comprehensive document of every surviving applicable structure, nor is every entry of historical importance, but it aims to give a broad sense of the different forms standing, kerbside on Britain's roads in the Twenty-First Century.

The book ‘226 Garages and Service Stations’ is out in September 2025 on FUEL.

Available from wherever you get your books.

Order from Bookshop.org in the UK