A Pioneering Act of Preservation
The Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages in Maidstone holds the distinction of being Britain's first dedicated carriage museum. Established in 1946 by Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, a twelve-time Mayor of Maidstone, the museum occupies a remarkable 14th-century tithe barn on Mill Street that has witnessed more than six centuries of English history.
The Visionary Collector
Sir (Hugh) Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake (1881-1964) was a local businessman and zoo owner who recognised in the early twentieth century that horse-drawn vehicles were rapidly disappearing as motor cars became prevalent. Placing advertisements in national newspapers, he sought to rescue carriages that were being scrapped or repurposed, amassing a collection that would eventually exceed sixty vehicles. His preservation efforts culminated in the museum's opening on 6 November 1946, inaugurated by Sir Leigh Ashton, then director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Historic Setting
The museum resides within the Tithe Barn, a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument constructed in the fourteenth century under Archbishop Courtenay, who died in 1396. Built of roughly coursed rag-stone rubble with six buttressed bays, the barn originally served as a tithe store and later as stables for the nearby Archbishop's Palace. The building features a distinctive two-storey half-timbered porch with a crown post tiled roof. The palace and stables remained in church possession until the sixteenth century, and the barn subsequently served as a munitions factory during the First World War and for Air Raid Precautions during the Second World War before its conversion to museum use.
A Collection of European Significance
The museum houses over sixty carriages dating from 1675 to the twentieth century, described as one of the finest collections in Europe and the largest collection of unrestored or original vehicles on the continent. Among the notable exhibits are Queen Victoria's State Landau by Hooper and Company, a travelling chariot from 1817 by Collingridge Rowley and Company, and a rare eighteenth-century curricle. The collection also includes the Duke of Montrose's State Chariot from 1790, an Italian sediola from the late seventeenth century, sedan chairs, a hansom cab, and Victorian 'growlers'. Several important pieces are on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Collection, and His Majesty the King.
Visiting the Museum
The Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages operates with limited opening hours, currently accessible to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3pm during the summer season. Entry is free of charge, though donations are welcomed. The museum relies upon volunteers to maintain its opening schedule, and Maidstone Borough Council, which owns and operates the facility alongside Maidstone Museums, continues to seek additional volunteer support to sustain public access to this unique heritage site.