Iconic motoring brand Castrol heaps praise on Lakeland Motor Museum’s “amazing” collection

Here at the Lakeland Motor Museum, we've won praise from Castrol for our “amazing range” of related memorabilia - a sample of which has been laid-out to mark 120 years since the iconic oil company was formed.

Founded in 1899 by Charles Cheers Wakefield as ‘The Wakefield Oil Company’, the Castrol branding was created when castor oil was added to the company’s lubricant formulations. Castrol was acquired by Burmah Oil in the mid-sixties, before it was then bought by British Petroleum in 2000 – which itself marks 110 years in 2019.

As one of the north’s leading heritage attractions, the museum – at Backbarrow in South Cumbria, is the home of more than 30,000 motoring-related exhibits, from cars to oil cans – many of which bear the famous Castrol logo. Items vary from advertising signs and containers of all shapes and sizes, right through to Joey Dunlop’s Isle of Man TT Honda 125 motorbike, sponsored by Castrol.

A small selection of around 200 items from our vast collection were gathered into one place for the purposes of the photographs and have since been re-distributed around the museum into each item’s original location – making for a fun game of “Spot the Castrol” for visiting children.

Our Operations Manager Chris Lowe, says, “Castrol is such an iconic motoring brand so it’s really satisfying to see so many related items gathered together here at the Lakeland Motor Museum. These items have been collected from various sources and given to us by many different donors over a 40 year period, demonstrating just how synonymous Castrol is with the evolution of motoring.”

Castrol’s European marketing manager Adrian Brabazon, comments, “It’s great to see the amazing range of Castrol memorabilia brought together at the Lakeland Motor Museum and to see Castrol’s anniversary being celebrated. We’re developing lubricants for the hybrid and electric cars of today and tomorrow, so we are very much looking forward to the next 120 years.”