Great Northern Classics, located in Derbyshire, occupies the former Victoria Ironworks foundry, originally built in the 1850s by Eastwood & Swingler Ltd. The iron casting business produced components as significant as beams for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the site’s story doesn’t stop there. Its automotive and engineering heritage runs deep.
In 1917, Rolls Royce moved in as part of the war effort, producing the Eagle engine at the site. By 1961, Rolls Royce had taken over the entire site, manufacturing jet and gas turbine engine components, including the Spey engines that powered Thrust SSC to the current world land speed record of 763mph. From 1981 until recently, it served as the Rolls Royce Heritage Centre. Today, the site has been reimagined as a business hub, vehicle storage facility, and thriving events space. Now firmly established as a must visit motoring destination in the East Midlands.
So, when we heard about their post-Christmas event, Drag the Halls, a meet up for hotrods and drag racing vehicles, we knew it was one we couldn’t miss. And who better to attend than our Sales Manager – and fellow hotrodder – Greg.
Cold mornings and classic cars tend to go hand in hand, and Drag the Halls on 27 December 2025 was no exception. A few of us from the Originals Hot Rod Club met up early at Two Gates, Fazeley (Tamworth), before heading north up the A38, arriving just in time for the 10am start.
My Model A Coupe was running without its roof insert for the trip – optimistic, in hindsight. Even with the biting temperatures, I had to crack open the windscreen vent to stop it steaming up. That turned the drive into something of a “character building experience” with my mate Jase when my window winder snapped enroute, leaving the glass jammed halfway up. It was properly cold.
Thankfully, my Christmas present came into its own: a trusty Jeep baseball cap – an absolute lifesaver.
Once on site, the cold was quickly forgotten. The event was exceptionally well organised, well marshalled, and very well attended. The variety of vehicles on display was impressive, ranging from beautifully detailed classics to raw, purpose built machines. There really was something for every petrolhead, all under one roof.
Curated displays included Wild Bunch dragsters, Nostalgia Superstock cars, a 7-second Fordson, NASCAR vehicles, and a strong showing of hot rods, many familiar faces and vehicles from the NSRA scene. As specialists in insuring hot rods, custom builds, and American cars, it was right up our street at ClassicLine Insurance. These are the kinds of vehicles we understand inside out, from modified classics to pro street builds, and it was great to see so many owners out and about over the Christmas break and enjoying their vehicles.
Between walking off two Christmas dinners’ worth of excess and catching up with friends old and new, the day flew by. The venue itself is spot on, clean, well laid out, and supported by great facilities, including an excellent café that provides the perfect excuse to warm up without losing any extremities.
There’s more than enough at Great Northern Classics to keep you engaged, and it’s definitely somewhere I’ll be returning to with my mates. Who knows, maybe it could even play host to a future club meet or event? Watch this space.
Did you make it to Drag the Halls at Great Northern Classics, or get out to another post-Christmas meet? We’d love to hear from you.
