PastImperfect: A British testing trackCurrently celebrating the centenary of its opening on July 6th 1907, the memory of the Brooklands circuit at Weybridge, despite having been closed to motor racing since 1940, continues to live on as a name to stir the imagination. That it should do so is a tribute to the memory of the extraordinary individual - HF Locke King - who conceived of the need to build a track to further the development of the motor industry.
In 1906 the area around Weybridge consisted of a rural landscape. Locke King, a wealthy landowner and the owner of a large Italia car in which he had toured the continent extensively, lived in one of the large houses in the area. It was his touring experience which led Locke King to realise that the French motor industry had long straight roads on which to develop its products, while in Italy the winding mountain passes provided suitable testing roads for their cars. No such facilities existed in Britain and Locke King determined to address the matter.
He called a small meeting of experts including Charles Jarrott and SF Edge, both prominent figures in the British motor industry. The debate that took place at this meeting convinced Locke King that his Foxhill estate could be used as the site of the unique motor racing track.
Not a man to be deterred by mere trifles such as the specification which all agreed was necessary for this track - a 100 ft wide 2.75 mile concrete roughly oval circuit - Locke King set to work to realise his dream with some haste. He employed an engineer, Colonel Holden, to draw up plans and under the direction of Mr Donaldson, a skilled railway engineer, work began in the winter of 1906 when 300 men cleared a stretch of some two miles through the trees of Cairn Wood.
Ultimately 2,000 men, living on site, were involved in the construction of the track. This involved diverting the river Wye and building two bridges. During the work Roman remains were uncovered and it was the end of March 1907 before the track surface begun to be laid. This was particularly complex for it had been agreed that for the necessary speeds to be obtained the track must be banked. Seating for 5,000 and accommodation for 30,000 spectators was provided and the whole undertaking occupied 3,000 acres.
Incredibly, Locke King built the entire project with his own money and completed it in less than nine months. Locke King lived until 1926 and saw his circuit become one of the world's great test and motor racing tracks, providing an invaluable impetus to the fledgling British motor industry.