Club History

A Brief History of MG Northumbria

MG Northumbria was formed in November 1993 when Tyne & Wear MG Owners Club was re-named.  We have been unable to discover when the previous club started, but in September 1985 it met in the premises of the Hadrian Motor Club on Newcastle Quayside and was being run by Adele McIntyre. In subsequent years it led a somewhat nomadic existence, meeting at the South Northumberland Cricket Club in Gosforth, the Gosforth Hotel where it has been noted only about a dozen people attended, the Holystone pub in North Tyneside, briefly at Sloanes Wine bar near Newcastle Civic Centre then back again to the Holystone.  Sometime in 1989 Mrs McIntyre left the area and Chris Wilson took over running the club with Wendy Bingham as secretary.

In 1993 the members decided they wished the club to be more formally run by a democratically elected committee and Chris Wilson stepped down.  One of the first actions of this new committee was to change the name to MG Northumbria to reflect the wider area of the growing membership.  As the membership continued to grow, larger premises were needed and we moved to Backworth Hall in July 1996.

By the mid 1990s membership numbers were consistently between 85 and 95, plus spouses or partners, and a wide variety of activities took place including scenic runs, navigation rallies, hill climbs and classic car shows.  In 2001 Derek Pickering formed Durham MGOC which inevitably resulted in a loss of members from south of the Tyne.  Membership numbers from then on have been fairly stable in the 70s and the club has continued to thrive.

Castles/Heritage Run 

The Castles Run was launched in 1990 and soon became a popular event, attracting up to 90 entries from all over the country and in particular large club entries from Edinburgh, Harrogate and Chesterfield who vied for the Largest Club Attendance award.  Runs started from one of the regions castles and finished at another, often with a lunch stop also at a castle, with many of the entrants in fancy dress or period costume.  As the years went by fancy dress became less popular (perhaps not unrelated to the cost of costume hire) and the attendance of other clubs fell as they built up their own events programmes.  In 2004 the run was renamed the Heritage Run to widen its scope and it was opened to all makes of classic car. 

Classic Vehicle Show 

Our first show was held in 1997 at Kirkley Hall agricultural college.  About 250 vehicles of all makes entered, the weather was excellent, and a good day was had by all.  The following year was very wet and only half that number turned up.  Another two successful shows were held but in 2001 the management of Kirkley Hall changed and we found it impossible to get a decision on whether the show could go ahead.  After missing a year the 2002 show was held at Bents Park, South Shields.  A warm and sunny day meant a large number of passers-by were prepared to pay to see about 300 vehicles on display and as a result a cheque for almost £800 was presented to the Great North Air Ambulance.  With no shows in 2003 and 2004, the 2005 and 2006 shows were held at Dilston Castle, just outside Corbridge.  These shows proved a great success with nearly 400 entries in each, raising about £6000 for Dilston’s Mencap College.  Sadly heavy overnight rain caused the cancellation of the 2007 show on the morning of the event.  In 2008 the event moved to a new venue at Tynedale Rugby Club and despite the wet weather and low attendance about £3000 was raised for the Priory School in Hexham. We returned on 5th July 2009 for hopefully a bigger and better show and raised a further £4600 for the Priory School. At Tynedale again for 2010 we raised £5000 which was shared between 5 local charities. 

Spring Break 

Starting in 2001, our four-night holiday in May is now an established and popular event in our programme, with between 20 and 25 people taking part.  The first trip, described as “MG Northumbria’s Grand Highland Tour” involved overnight stays at Aberfoyle, Inveraray, Grantown-on-Spey and Pitlochry.  Its success led to a repeat the following year with Grantown being dropped in favour of an extra night at Inveraray.  In 2003 we toured Yorkshire and the Lake District, staying at Beverley, Skipton, Kendal and Keswick.  In 2004 it was the Peak District, with all four nights at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn in Derbyshire.  In 2006 we visited Dumfries and Galloway, staying at Castle Douglas, and the following year was the turn of the North Yorkshire Moors at the New Inn, Cropton.  With all four nights spent at one hotel a pattern has been established of a one day scenic run and visits to local attractions on the other days.  However, one of the most popular activities from the start has been the evening meal followed by a good chat in the bar. 

In 2008 the club went to Freuchie in Fife, to Keswick in 2009 which included a visit to the Ford Motorsport HQ at Dovenby Hall. 2010 saw another successful and fully booked trip to Skipton and Yorkshire will be the venue for 2011 with another visit to Cropton.

Past Chairmen and Secretaries:
Chairman                                          Secretary

1993 - 1996         David Greeves                1993 - 1997         Wendy Bingham
1997 - 2000         Derek Pickering              1998 - 2004         Bruce Beattie
2001 - 2003         Jim Jameson                  2005 - 2007         Lorraine Hunter
2004 - 2005         Eric Turtle                       2008 -  2010        Stephen Ruddick
2006 (part)          George Swift                    2010 -                  Tim Cook
2006 (part)          Paul Humphries
2007 - 2008         Ken Wood
2008-                  John Pearce