Mathewson’s began in 1970 with the sale of a modern car and commercial vehicles in Bedfordshire. Supplying both retail and trade customers. An enviable reputation was built. (Yes. It’s been a family business operating for over 50 years!!)
Even back then the showrooms were always full of Derek Mathewson’s true passion – Vintage & Classic cars. (In fact, we still have a number of those early acquisitions in our collection.)
During this period Mathewson’s also branched into the vehicle contract hire and leasing business supplying vehicles throughout the UK.
With family connections in the North of the country and after many holidays in the area, 1988 saw the family’s move to North Yorkshire. The operations were initially retained in Bedfordshire, just in case we didn’t settle, before finally being sold in the late 80s.
Our Scarborough based garage was initially purchased in 1988 before adding the Malton garage in 1990 and then the Pickering garage in 1992.
The 1990s saw us predominantly operating two main dealer franchises, KIA & Skoda, with the Classic & Vintage side of the business very secondary. Interesting times, but this was destined to change.
Inevitably, with our ever-increasing private collection, the Classic & Vintage side of our operation became our sole focus. This area clearly continues to grow strongly and proves so much more interesting than modern vehicles.
Our picturesque village location ideally suits our Motor Museum operation and supply of these vehicles. 2011 noted our much-awaited venture into the world of Classic Car Auctions. After many years of looking for that right property/location combination, we thought that we may just have it at our Museum / Showroom premises at Thornton le Dale. After all, the location is well known, Thornton le Dale has a 300+ Car / Coach park within a few hundred yards of our showroom and the extremely picturesque village holds a number of other attractions that could well keep the long-suffering partner amused for an hour or two!
In 2019 we were approached by two separate TV companies within months of each other with regards to taking part in a ‘fly on the wall’ TV programme about us and the auction operation. We decided to ‘give it a go’ with one of the companies, due to the producer’s persistence and clear passion for what we do! So, thanks to Andy Joynson of Air TV / UK TV we are now on ‘Bangers & Cash’ Series 5, a further spin-off show ‘Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics’ is pending and the programme has proven to be the most popular production to date.
At this point we must express our sincere thanks to Andy and all the fabulous team at Air TV for their high levels of tolerance and persistence, not to mention producing an extremely well-received show. Thank you all.
Our 2020 expansion with a new showroom unit located just a mile from Thornton le Dale enabled us to display an additional 100+ cars/motorbikes and a whole host of memorabilia. All undercover!
Meanwhile, our personal collection continues to grow with a handful of new acquisitions each year. We currently have around 75 classic cars, 50 motorbikes, a dozen classic commercial vehicles and a large collection of automobilia, with a dream of one-day owning premises large enough to hold our total operation/collection on one location. One day!
9 auctions are now held annually, with entry lot numbers continuing to rise. Currently, we handle a wide range of memorabilia together with around 4000 vehicles each year. A mixture of lorries, tractors, cars and motorbikes,
Safely allowing public attendance to our auctions is a priority, together with the re-opening of our museum, however for the time being we will continue to open our shop every day and pre-auction viewings of all lots are encouraged!
We continue to attend many vehicle gatherings each year including the all-Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicle Group and are members of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBVHC).
