The Tyrrell Shed is opened by Sir Jackie Stewart

It has not been perfectly re-painted, it has not had all the snaggy bits of wood replaced, the surfaces aren’t all clean and the props aren’t all glistening. It’s as was, a slightly tired old shed, filled with slightly tired old bits. Because it is out of this as it’s presented here today at Goodwood, that Tyrrell in its earliest years turned out Formula 1 World Championship-winning cars.

Some relics are rightfully lost to time. In order to create what will be, we can’t always save all that once was. Some, rightfully, are saved and some that should make it, do not. The original Tyrrell shed was expected by all at one point, to be lost. But thanks to a seed of an idea planted by Doug Nye in the mind of the Duke of Richmond, a plan was hatched and executed, between the Goodwood Estate, the Tyrrell family, Sir Jackie Stewart, Ford Motor Company and more, to bring the Tyrrell shed to Goodwood to be preserved forevermore. 

It took longer than many hoped, it was a challenge for all involved but here at the 2024 Goodwood Revival, we can officially say the job is done: the Tyrrell Shed is open once again. To mark the occasion at the Revival, we invited as many Tyrrell veterans as would come, as well Sir Jackie Stewart and Martin Brundle, to come and share in the memories that permeate this unassuming structure.

While the prevailing weather conditions delayed the arrival of the ‘Flying Scot’, Martin Brundle, who got his start at the Tyrrell Team in its later years after the Shed will have fallen out of use, indulged the crowd.

“Congratulations to His Grace for having the tenacity to get this down the A3, sort out the asbestos and sort it all out. It’s quite the achievement,” he said. 

“I know a lot of Tyrrell people here today who must be so grateful it didn’t get bulldozed down.

“I used to have to drive three and a half hours down for Ken to take me through my dog rings and bollock me. He’d say to me ‘do you know how much these cost?’. I became one of the best gear shifters in Formula 1 because I couldn’t face the seven-hour round trip.

“It was low budget but it was a family fit. I’ve got it somewhere, the original call sheet for Rio 1984, that had 12 people on it, that included Ken and Nora, me and Belof. It was a small team but it had the spirit and we all looked up to Ken enormously.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for Ken. He gave me a test at Silverstone. I got to know him over the decades – he was just really a man I loved unequivocally. Just a straightforward, honest man, with great principles. We all remember the magnificent Ken Tyrrell.”

Then after a bit more mingling and meandering around the shed, taking in the artefacts on display throughout, a stillness and a quiet fell and the crowd parted, as a short, sharp-faced chap in a tartan flat cap turned through the front doors. Sir Jackie Stewart might not have the biggest physical presence, but the room was transfixed, only just stopping short of bowing, as he made his way through.

As he arrived at the front, the Duke of Richmond took to the microphone to officially open the Shed.

“It’s with immense pleasure and pride that I stand before you today to officially open the Tyrrell Shed here at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Ken himself raced here in the 1950s and here is where Sir Jackie’s journey to stardom really began. Tyrrell racing tested their cars here well into the ’70s, pushing the boundaries of engineering and ingenuity.

“Under Uncle Ken’s visionary leadership, the team won three driver’s world championships and two constructors’ championships, with the cars not just run from within these walls, but fabricated and built here. How fitting that this shed, a silent witness to those early triumphs, now stands proudly at Goodwood as a tribute to that remarkable legacy.

“We’re here to celebrate the resilience, dedication and sheer passion that brought this iconic shed back to life. The relocation was no small feat that required careful planning and the collective effort of many to ensure that every plank, beam and memory was treated with the utmost care.

“I’d like to very much thank the team at Goodwood and the team of artisans and builders that helped us take it down and rebuild it and I’d especially like to thank Doug, because this was Doug’s idea. This is Doug’s building. It was Doug that rang me and said they’re about to tear it down, can’t we do something about it.”

The Duke proceeded to give thanks to all the partners in the project, from the financiers, to the creative collaborators and those who physically reconstructed and sympathetically restored the Shed. The cars came courtesy of the Tyrrell and Stuart family, the first a 001, the second Jackie’s very 006 from the 1973 championship-winning season.

Littered throughout the crowd were assorted staff members, mechanics and so on, to whom the Shed was the four walls of their 9-5 – and many hours beyond – in the early 1970s. Many brought trinkets and artefacts from the period that they’re donating to fortify the set dressing and add to the authenticity. Looking around, you can see prize money sheets, invoices and more from the period – can you imagine F1 prize money only being in four figures today?

“The Shed is more than just a building, it’s a symbol of what can be achieved when people come together with a shared vision and a respect for history,” the Duke concluded. “Thank you all so much – thanks for coming.”

With an applause, Sir Jackie Stewart takes to the microphone.

“Your Grace, without you this would not be happening. Ken Tyrrell was unique, a wonderful man. I don’t believe in the history of motorsport there’s been one unit that’s been extended each year as much. I started here in Formula 3 and stayed with Ken until I retired from motor racing. This hut is responsible for all of that.

“I just want to say finally, thank you to His Grace. He’s got something here that exists nowhere else in the world. The mechanics I’m looking at now, I’m sorry I’m so late. Thank you sir, thank you, all of you, to see this wonderful place, this wonderful thing, that gave Britain another look at how things could be done. And Ken Tyrrell was the man who did it.”

The Tyrrell Shed captures a moment in time and will be preserved here at Goodwood for as long as we keep doing what we do. It’ll be here for all to see, to learn about another aspect of British motorsport history, at all of our events. How wonderful it is to see this project come to fruition.

The 2024 Goodwood Revival takes place on 6^th-8^th September. You can watch every moment of the historic motorsport action right here on our live stream!

Photography by Joe Harding.