The Yorkshire dairy farm that has become a holiday destination for classic car enthusiasts

It was a source of amazement to Chris, finding he could engineer a business out of his love of all things motoring.

“Our cars have appeared in a number of TV shows,” says Chris, who came north from Kent 40 years ago and never intended cars to become their main income, but a chance decision after being made redundant from a globe-hopping career of clean rooms and laboratories made him change gear to overalls, grease and oil.

“This all started when I was made redundant in 2001 and a friend, who knew I was into restoring cars and motorbikes, suggested investing some of my redundancy money in purchasing two classic Rolls Royce cars. Niki wasn’t so sure, not to put too fine a point on it. I just thought it would be something to bring in a few shekels at the weekend, by restoring and hiring them as wedding cars.

“I invested in a 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 2 and a 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 3. Niki went ballistic, but I made them like new, they looked immaculate and we started in the wedding game. What really surprised me was how fast the business took off and how it grew exponentially. I was having to buy more cars, maintain what we already had and restore those we’d just bought to keep up with demand.

“Fortunately, I had Ken, Niki’s father, here every day helping me on either restoration of the house or the cars. He’d retired early but found himself busier than ever. I am eternally grateful for everything Ken has done.

By 2008 Superior Motor Cars, Chris and Niki’s now full-time business, supplied cars for 255 weddings with a range that today includes a 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith, a 1950 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, 1948 Bentley Mk VI, 1949 Bentley Mulliner, 1952 Bentley Freestone & Webb and a whole range of others.

But another change of direction became necessary around the end of the noughties.

“No longer having to get married at church saw our wedding car business start to go in reverse. Our business had been predicated on taking the bride and father to church and then taking the bride and newly acquired husband on to reception. That still happens, but to a lesser extent, as you don’t really need a car if you’re having it all at a venue where the bride is already staying overnight the night before.

“That’s when we started self-drive more aimed at grooms. That’s where other cars like the Jaguars or Mustangs started becoming more popular, so the groom could arrive while the bride could get ready at the venue.

Classic Car Hire Yorkshire has seen Chris extend his pedigree herd of cars further with everything from 1965 and 1966 Mustang GT350s, 1969 MGC Sebring, 1969 V8 Daimler and a V8 Rat Rod.

“I’ve restored most of these from wrecks, some from farms and often full of chickens and rats.

“We supplied ITV’s long-running 60’s show Heartbeat with a Mk I Jaguar, an Austin Lichfield, and a white Morris Minor. We drew the line at providing Claude Greengrass’ truck. I’d never want that to be part of our herd. Not our scene at all. The Jaguar was used as a getaway car by some thug. I have to tell you that thankfully those who hire our cars or come to stay here are much nicer people than that.

“We’ve also supplied BBC’s Celebrity Antiques Road Trip with Niki’s 1966 Mustang Convertible, the Mk II Jaguar twice, a Morris Minor 1960 powder blue soft top, and our 60s period piece of the camper van. Keith Duffy from Boyzone had the 1972 VW Campervan and Brian McFadden of Westlife had the 1970 Buick Skylark Convertible. We’ve even had local rapper Billy Boy Fitch use my 1939 Rolls Royce in one of his videos.

Chris had restored a previous home in Sheriff Hutton when he first settled in Yorkshire, and he created a second business, also run from home, in 2016, again from another suggestion.

“We now The Garden Room and Tinson’s Barn. They’re excellent standard holiday accommodation complete with hot tubs. We’d had a friend tell us that what we had done in creating them would make great Air BnB and they are both doing great.

“The Garden Room already belonged to us and was originally the farm’s cart shed that I’d used as a garage. I built three Bentleys in there. The barns and everything behind the Garden Room didn’t originally belong to us. It had been Tinson & Sons joinery workshop and builders yard. It’s now Tinson’s Barn and beyond it is my workshop.

“This village and the Wolds offer everyone a nice quiet break. There’s no light pollution, you can sit in the hot tub and look at the stars, go walking the Wolds or take a ten minute walk to the local pub in Fangfoss.

Chris says he still hasn’t acquired a Yorkshire accent, but that his sister found an amazing connection to Village Farm through the accent.

“My sister lives in Kent and was being served breakfast in Inverness by a man with a Yorkshire accent. When she asked where he was from, he said Bolton. His name was Derbyshire, the name of the family who had Village Farm. He told her that he was born on the farm and that his family were the last to farm here. Small world.