Royal Automobile Club: From breakdown patrols to a palace on Pall Mall

In this episode, I’m exploring the story of the Royal Automobile Club, or the RAC.

Founded in 1897 by a group of pioneering motorists, the Club helped transform the motor car from a noisy curiosity into part of everyday British life. Its story takes us from the Red Flag Act and the Thousand Mile Trial to roadside patrols, the creation of Silverstone and the first Formula One World Championship race.

I also head inside its enormous Pall Mall clubhouse, with its changing display of historic cars, grand dining rooms, Turkish baths and one of London’s most spectacular swimming pools. Then there’s Woodcote Park, the Club’s 350-acre country estate near Epsom.

Plus, I explain how RAC breakdown cover began here, why the orange vans are no longer connected to the private club, and how the sale of the business reportedly gave each member a £34,000 windfall.

Sign up to the Patreon to hear me talk more casually about my own experiences of the RAC, my recent visit to the National Liberal Club, a quick trip to the Walbrook and my continuing attempts to improve at snooker in the Reform Club.