Peter Black Keighley

[elster]

Did anyone else visit his car collection?

Been speaking to my dad today and as a youngster went to visit it. As my granddad and Peter Black were friends.

Fantastic story of the guy and awesome car collection.

Did anyone else visit?

Did his sons keep the collection running and is it still available or have they got rid of it now?

[elster]

telecat said:

Just had a quick look around and as of 2007 it still existed. They "re-focused" the collection and sold off a number of cars then and it's also known as the "Yorkshire Car Collection".

I thought that was the Skopos one?

Or are they the same?

[elster]

24Razor said:

I know of the Peter Black car collection being from Keighley originally. Peter Black was infamous as a large proportion of the townsfolk were employed at his factory. Every year the Keighley Gala included a large procession of his cars.
The original collection was started by Peter and continued by his sons Gordon, and the other who's name ecapes me. The original collection was housed down Lawkholme Lane where his original factory was, and special invitation or those in the know open days allowed the public in as I remember as a small child. It was full of not just cars such as a convertible Cadillac owned by Mick Jagger ho's date reputadely put her stilleto through the fabric roof, varous Jags, AC428, Cosworth RS500, Mini Cooper,etc etc but had staged working period garages, memorabilia, bicycles, models, you name it. It was around 200 cars but not all housed there. I understood they bought Hornsea Pottery at one time and housed quite a few over here.
The Lawkholme Lane warehouse lost the collection some time ago, last I knew it was a failed Snooker hall but Peter Black's business still thrives albeit in a different guise close by, off Bradford Street. His son's are car enthusiasts and I doubt that the collection is "disbanded". Sold a few maybe, but must still exist. However, it was always a private collection, and never highly publicised when the doors were opened.
The Skopos Museum (although I'm not sure it's still called that)collection I also know of, owned by Steve Batty a successful businessman from Batey where the collection resides and is open to the public. I know the Curator, a Canadian called Mike Teuro as we studied the same part time degree at Leeds. It's a smart museum with a large bar called Brooklands overlooking the museum via a large glass partition, and well worth a look as the cars in progress are also on view.
Hope this info is of some use.

Thanks for that.