Sir Peter Murray: 'My first car was an Austin 7 - unfortunately it let me down a lot'

Sir Peter Murray, founder of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield, has fond memories of his first car, an Austin 7.
Sir Peter loved the temperamental Austin 7 he owned when he was a teenager.Sir Peter loved the temperamental Austin 7 he owned when he was a teenager.
Sir Peter loved the temperamental Austin 7 he owned when he was a teenager.

But he says the car often let him down, unlike more modern machines which tend to be more reliable.

He recalls that it taught him quite a lot about cars but it was very difficult to keep it well-maintained, in contrast to his current motor which he says is very reliable.

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Sir Peter, who says he is “around 80”, was in his native Middlesbrough when he got the car some 60 years ago.

“I was a student and I must have been 18 or 19,” he adds. “I loved the car. It was great but it was a little temperamental, let’s put it like that.

“It does make you appreciate modern cars when you remember how unreliable they were.”

Sir Peter became an art lecturer in West Yorkshire, before having the vision to create the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 1977.

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He studied fine art and education and has paintings, drawings and prints in several public and private collections.

“I enjoy driving,” he says. “I always have, although at the moment I can’t drive because I have had eye surgery. But I do generally enjoy driving. There is great freedom in driving and you can contemplate.

“I like the freedom it brings and I do miss it now that I’m not able to get out and about at the moment. It makes you realise how important such simple pleasures are.”

Sir Peter, who lives near Holmfirth, now has a Toyota RAC4 which he enjoys.

“It is a great car,” he adds. “Very reliable indeed. I like the size and the ability of it very much.”

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