Ed Vaizey, Heritage Minister, said: “There was an undeniably romantic flavour
to motoring in the UK during the first half of the twentieth century.

“Cars looked distinctive and many designs we now think of as classics were
born in that era.

“What’s less well recorded, however, are the buildings and structures that
provided the setting and infrastructure for the golden age of the motor
car.”

Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: “The motor car,
like the railways before it, changed the world in which we live.

“Now, in an age when it is common to blame cars for blighting our environment,
it is time to recognise and appreciate the positive contribution they have
made to England’s heritage.”

A new book, Carscapes: the Motor Car, Architecture and Landscape in England,
has also been published to examine the impact of the motor car on the
historic environment.

Written by English Heritage experts John Minnis and Kathryn Morrison, the book
sets out to illuminate the century-long process that saw the world around us
re-engineered for cars.

Exploring the history of various building types and structures associated with
the car – filling stations, garages, car showrooms, car parks, motels,
roadhouses, highways, bridges, and even signage – the book looks at how the
car became such a powerful catalyst for change.