The legend of Blackborough

[bigstraight6]

Well, I saw it for myself yesterday, the fabled Blackborough house breakers yard in the Blackdown hills near Cullompton in Devon and although a lot of stuff has been cleared in recent times there's still a few interesting items about the place, firstly here's the noble pile in all its glory....

And within the grounds....

 

Incredible in this day and age, and yes "DKF 6" really is a late 30's Packard in the bushes next to the MK9 Jag This place really is quite surreal and has a timewarp feel about it, if I remember rightly someone else posted up some pics of this place back along, I'd quite like to see those again now having been there myself....

[Spottedlaurel]

Wow! What's really odd is seeing the old things that have obviously been there for years (sentimental value to them?) with fairly new stuff alongside (or on top of, in the case of the Carisma).How much longer will the place keep going?Looks like a great day out.

[monzaE]

Heaven. As someone who has been physically removed from yards in the past I wonder how they take to voyeurs with cameras? I'm thinking picnic basket, tartan rug and Jackshelter.

[Adrian_pt]

Christ alive! For a start that house is absolutely outrageous. And then the sheer amount of posh shite ... wow. That stretched '38 Buick (I think) might well be my fave, although the Jags are perfect as well. If I were an aristo, I'd DEFINITELY want to live like that.

[reallyloud]

I think I might just wet myself now. Splendid work - I recall seeing this in a classic car magazine quite a few years ago and pleased to see its still there. I think a holiday is order for datsuncherry.

[Jason A]

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.Some of those Jags would've looked good painted up & blasted round the track though

[michiel]

Is that what Heaven looks like? I might go a few years before my time if it is.Some of those Jags would look good slammed and back on the road though.

[seth]

WOW! Speechless!

[Richard]

It certainly looks like Heaven to me. I think I'd better start being good or I'll end up in a "Best Kept Village" populated by golfers and stocked with BMW Minis.

[Milford Cubicle]

How wonderful is that place?! The Mitsubishi Carisma looks bizarre parked on top of the Jaguar MkIX (?)

[fordpoplier]

That place looks incredible? Is it a real breakers yard where you can buy stuff or some eccentric stately home owner with a penchant for jags?

[scrappylad]

That is an amazing place.I thought this had been cleared years ago but evidently not... which is only a good thing. Long may it continue.Maybe this years Cornwall holiday might incorporate a slight detour!

[MrRegieRitmo]

Some of those Jags would've looked good painted up & blasted round the track though

Some of those Jags would look good slammed and back on the road though.

Hmmm.....gotta go with the latter I'm afraid!

[Mr Lobster]

Wowsers! That is incredble, certainly not something you expect in 2008.Now when can I next be passing by that way?

[retrogeezer]

Is someone living there still??? What a fantastic house/place.....

[STUNO]

Remember seeing this place before. I think in Practical Classics mag It was a scrappy and "they" lived in the house ...BUT...the white hillman looks as if the owners parked it there and were invited in to the Big House for a cup of tea , and the car is still waiting

[mk2_craig]

I love this place! Anybody got a postcode/OSGR to fire into Google Maps for an aerial shot?

[Mat.T]

wow, some one posted this on RR a while ago, nice to see some more pics

 

from the rr thread

 

Not far outside Exeter. There are cars inside the house too, only been in the house once and there were even cars upstairs on the landing, must've been driven up the grand looking staircase! Up until the late 90s the cars were arranged chronologically in rings radiating out from the house, I bought a pair of A30 doors from there in 97/98 and it was incredible, the stuff close to the house was 1940s going to 90s stuff farthest away. Unfortunately the local council got involved and made them reduce the amount of vehicles on the land.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en ... &z=18&om=0

[Dead_E23]

I would love to know what's special enough to park inside the house - bet there are some real treasures hiding in there.Come to think of it, how cool would it be to live in a house in which you could drive upstairs to bed? I'd go in an A60 Sun-Tor and not get out

[bigstraight6]

A few more!....

[CortinaDave]

Wow! what a place.... any mk3/4 cortinas in the stash? Viva has been lying a LONG time.. Jag almost a decade longer!The enquiry is complete The vehicle details for SFJ 912J are: Date of Liability 01 12 1989 Date of First Registration 08 10 1970 Year of Manufacture Not Available Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1159CC CO2 Emissions Not Available Fuel Type Petrol Export Marker Not Applicable Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour BLUE Vehicle Type Approval null The information contained on this page is correct at the time of enquiry. Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 6 Months Rate £63.25 12 Months Rate £115.00The enquiry is complete The vehicle details for 995 YKX are: Date of Liability 01 04 1980 Date of First Registration 20 08 1962 Year of Manufacture Not Available Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2483CC CO2 Emissions Not Available Fuel Type Petrol Export Marker Not Applicable Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour BLUE Vehicle Type Approval null The information contained on this page is correct at the time of enquiry. Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 6 Months Rate £99.00 12 Months Rate £180.00

[MrRegieRitmo]

In that case they look remarkably straight then!

[bones96]

bugger me im getting a transporter and having them jags think i might be related to the owner of that place

[Gompo]

..Incredible, excellent work.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

What an amazing set-up, i'd love to go there, i thought this kind of place had been wiped out years ago.

[BD3]

I have a scrapyard pics supplement from Popular Classics mag, its from 1991 and is called Lost Treasures. Blackborough is featured in it. Blackborough is decribed as "Scattered around the grounds of an Italianate mansion in Devon is an unbelieveable collection of classics"Other scrapyards featured areJack Jones Motors, Whitchurch, near Ross-on-Wye, HerefordshirePrior's of Yaxham, NorfolkCastleford Motor Spares, West YorkshireRush Green Car Spares, HertsBerinsfield Car Breakers, OxfordshireHunts of Molesworth, CambsRayners, Littleworth near Wootton Basset, Swindon

[MrRegieRitmo]

Rush Green Car Spares, Herts

Hmmm I wonder whether that's known to me......could well be! I left Herts when I was a kid so wouldn't know alot of places by name.

[Dead_E23]

Hmmm I wonder whether that's known to me......could well be!

I'm pretty sure that Rush Green Motors was discussed on this forum in the pre-purge days. I visited a couple of times about 5 years ago (successfully!) seeking left hand thread imperial sized wheelnuts to go on an old trailer I own and was absolutely enchanted by it. Acres of old commercial vehicles in their original liveries all slowly returning to nature. Unfortunately I understand the whole place is set to disappear due to a planned westward expansion of skanky Stevenage. Personally I would prefer the scrapyard to expand eastwards...Here it is on Google maps and here is their website - well worth a browse.

[Adrian_pt]

There's also David kelly in North Wales - specialises in old renaults, has at least 20 R12 and probably 10 R16s as well as some other real rarities. Last time I was there I saw a Triumph Mayflower, a Dacia Denem, an early R4 van and many other beauts. There's also an impressve collection of tat at Llandudno Junction if anyone's in the area: lots of Invacars, Daimler DS420, a Dacia Duster, Ford Consul Classic, etc.... Lovely.

[Amishtat]

Visited this in 2005 after much searching to even find it. Hadn't even got out of the car before getting told to fuck off by some woman. Anybody know whether there's anything left there?