A Scottish Rolls-Royce in Northern Ireland

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Imagine you’ve been collecting automobilia for much of your life. Old fuel pumps and globes, enamel signs, fuel cans and sales racks. Together with a modest but gorgeous small collection of vehicles you’ve managed to create your own little private motoring museum. But then comes the time to part with it all, whether the reason is a change of interest, old age or even the coronavirus. The auctions may fit in here, and you won’t be the first to bring over his lifetime collection to the auctioneers. Armstrong Auctions of Northern Ireland has just come across such a private collection – this one from Mister Sam & Shirley Marsden, which they are selling without reserves on Saturday 28th March.

We like this 1932 Riley radiator and this particularly pretty 1925 Shell pump. But the star of the lot list has to be this 1926 Rolls-Royce 20 with a body by Penman of Dumfries, Scotland in a gorgeous shade of (Scottish?) blue with black wings. The car was sold new to a Mister Levitt who kept it until 1948 when it made its way over to London to the showroom of Mascot Motors. From there it had a few more owners, eventually ending up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was restored in that part of the world in the 1970s. And when the next owner, Tommy McWilliam, needed space to house it, Sam Marsden came in the picture as he was able to garage the car for him, eventually taking it over in 1988. It must have been the centre of attention in Marsden’s lovely little museum since then.

The car comes with its full history, logbook and plenty of receipts plus… a travelling rug for the passenger made by Hilltop of Scotland. The estimate of £50- to £60,000 doesn't seem exaggerated to us. Oh – we just found out that Penman of Dumfries is still going strong. That was a bit of a surprise.

Words by Jeroen Booij. Pictures courtesy Armstrong Auctions.

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