Bicester Motion has grown rapidly in size and popularity since its opening in 2017, and there’s much more to come. We sat down with the man behind the project to learn about its future
Poorly maintained buildings have been brought back to life and new, in-character buildings are being carefully added to preserve the leafy and authentic period aura of a place that at times features in period productions such as the Foyle’s War TV series. A hotel with architecture carefully matched to existing buildings has already passed the planning stage.
Beyond the imposing Main Gate, manned by a genial retired psychotherapist called Neil , the history runs deep. A pioneer aviator, Lieutenant HRP Reynolds, first dropped in with his Bristol Boxkite in 1911. The Royal Flying Corps arrived in 1916, then the place was greatly expanded between 1925 and 1928 , when it became a base for research into new flying developments and techniques.In the run-up to World War II, it was the pride of the RAF.
Geoghegan enjoys pointing out Bicester’s long association with cutting-edge tech. “The original idea for this place was that it would be an important technical centre for the nation,” he explains. “We had done steam, we were developing petrol and right here we were developing aircraft and flying. Given Bicester started as a major R&D hub, why shouldn’t we return it to its roots?”
“The whole thing started quite literally with an accident,” he explains. “I was riding in a historic car rally in 2013 with a friend. Things went badly wrong; we went off the road and could both have been killed. I came out of it with a fractured pelvis, spent six weeks on crutches and took about six months to recover properly. That kind of experience makes you think about things.
Geoghegan doesn’t do specifics, but he allows that Bicester Motion is now “a resilient business” with an annual turnover of £100 million-plus.
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