London loses one of its great destinations as museum closes
Rent hikes force owner to sell off bikes and shut doors for good
The London Motor Cycle Museum in Greenford has been forced to shut down after complaining that rent increases have made it unsustainable. The museum has been in its current location since 1999 with a collection of hundreds of mostly British bikes dating back to the early 1900s.
But the venue closed its doors to the public last week and many of the bikes are due to be auctioned off at the Stafford Show later this month. Some machines have been sold off already. “The problem is the rent,” says 87-year-old owner Bill Crosby, who founded the museum with bikes from his nearby ‘Reg Allen Motorcycles’ business. “Ealing council want £13,000 off us per quarter. I’ve been selling bikes to pay the bill but we can’t go on like this forever.” Wife Philippa went on: “When we first opened 20 years ago they (the council) were able to offer rent relief and we didn’t pay anything for a good few years.” When the museum was asked to pay 50 % of the going rental rate, she said it was manageable. “In the last few years it’s gone up to 100 per cent, so we’re now paying ordinary commercial rent, which is going up and we can’t do it. It’s a charity. Nobody makes any money, it all goes back to the museum.” Crosby says he has enough cash to stay in the premises until Christmas but that only gives them enough time to clear everything out. Many of the bike are to be sold without reserve in Bonham’s auction at Stafford on October 19-20 simply because he has nowhere to store them.
Crosby started as a Triumph dealer, beginning a fascination with the brand that lead to a collection of bikes including prototypes and even the final machine to roll out of the old Meriden factory in 1983.
Ironically, visitor numbers had recently been on the rise.
“A lot of people turn up saying they’ve been meaning to come for years,” adds Crosby. “It’s a shame it takes closing to finally get them here!”
‘Ealing Council want £13,000 off us per quarter’ MUSEUM OWNER BILL CROSBY