THE BUILDING is somewhat anonymous and not terribly remarkable, but all that changes once you’re inside...

    Now, at 'Dep-O' we pride ourselves in knowing a thing or two about impressive, extra-large sheds, but this? This is a king among sheds, if there were such a publication as 'Corr! What a Lovely Shed Monthly', this would surely be both cover star and centrefold combined.

    The further you walk into the Ford Heritage Centre workshop, the further you leave the ghastliness of the modern era behind. This is utterly captivating: lined up two, sometimes even three rows deep, are countless ethereal silhouettes hiding under protective sheets of polythene. Some more familiar than others: some recognisable from old magazines, others immediately transporting you back to your childhood.

    In next to no time, you start to sound like a broken record, repetitiously exclaiming "Bloody hell! I haven’t seen one of those for ages..."

    Lined up against the wall is a massively varied pick ’n’ mix of classic Fords – from the not quite – a pink StreetKa anyone? – to a couple of bona-fide classic RS200s, Model Ts, a Model A, Fiestas, Escorts, a V8 Pilot, a Prefect, a MkI Zephyr, a Corsair 2000, Mondeo LX, a Ferguson 4x4 Capri GXL, numerous Cosworth derivatives, an Anglia and the last ever Cortina built – a 1982 Y-plate 1.6.

    “The collection itself never really started as a collection, it was scattered all over different departments of the company,” says John Nevill, the Heritage Fleet Administrator. “Gradually over the years, from about 1965, it was pulled together when someone had the idea that it should be a fleet and someone went out and bought a Model T. They’ve been a few since then.

    “Then the late Ron Staunton, a great guy who was here man and boy
(until three weeks before his death he was still working for Ford), did a sterling job pulling it all together. He started working for the company as an apprentice moving up to become a senior instructor before taking retirement – only to come back to look after this part-time – all in, he did 53 years for the company...