Tyrrell Shed is dismantled for Goodwood move

The birthplace of one of Formula 1’s greatest underdogs, Tyrrell, has become the stuff of romantic legend across recent years, and work has now begun to relocate Ken Tyrrell’s humble shed to the grounds of Goodwood, preserving it for future generations.

The Tyrrell Shed, complete with its blue doors, has stood on an industrial estate in Ockham, Surrey for more than 70 years as a throwback to a bygone time when garagistes could still rule the day against the big boys. It was from this humble 30m x 8m base that Tyrrell took on the world and beat all-comers to the 1971 F1 World Championship with Jackie Stewart at the wheel of its Elf-backed 003.

However, the world moves on, and the team’s base was threatened with demolition by the growing businesses adjacent to it, despite the weather-beaten structure still attracting visitors from across the globe eager for a peek at the simpler times of the sport. It was of little surprise that when Motor Sport revealed that the ageing building was at risk two years ago, readers contacted us in their droves, offering their backing to save the shed.

But the £100,000 cost of removing the building (half of that due to its asbestos roof), was proving an insurmountable obstacle to potential custodians, until our story was seen by the Duke of Richmond, who stepped in to offer a new permanent home to the historic building on his Goodwood estate. Work began recently to dismantle the building and move it to Goodwood, a rescue mission that saves the historic shed and ensures it will be restored and stand on a prominent site next to the Motor Circuit on the Hurricane Lawn, behind the Woodcote grandstand that overlooks the run to the final chicane. It is expected to play a part in both Members’ Meeting and Revival displays.

Although far from its original location, it should still evoke a period in Formula 1’s history when garagistes were just that, taking on the mighty Ferrari and Lotus from factories and sheds. The shed’s history began long before the Tyrrell Racing Organisation was conceived, having been used during the war as a base for the Women’s Royal Army Corps.

In his Ken Tyrrell biography, Christopher Hilton writes that the Tyrrell family bought it for £50 to serve as a woodshed for their Ockham timber yard. The wood was shipped out when Ken set up his Formula 2 team in the 1950s, and it became the F1 base a decade later. Although the team expanded with more staff and buildings, the shed remained a core part, hosting welding, fabrication and trim departments.

Tyrrell’s fortunes waned and the team was sold to British American Racing in 1997, moving to Brackley. The shed became a storage facility – most recently for party equipment – but via Honda and Brawn it will always be the base from which the mighty Mercedes outfit evolved. Tyrrell’s home won’t become anonymous: there are signs referencing the team at the entrance to the village, as well as the site. And there are also plans to mark where the shed stood when it is replaced with a single-storey factory extension.