Hugh F. Locke King

Hugh Fortescue Locke King (7 October 1848 – 28 January 1926)[1] (sometimes incorrectly written as Locke-King[2]), was a British entrepreneur who founded and financed the creation of the Brooklands motor racing circuit.

[1] [2] He was born at Chertsey, the third of four sons and sixth of nine children of Louisa Elizabeth (née Hoare; ca.

Brooklands simply described a multi-channel stretch of the River Wey plus eastern hillsides and meadows supporting sheep and crops, the major secondary estate of the manor of Oatlands.

The reduced but still hamlet-sized estate had been bought in 1830 by his father from the death estate of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany for £28,000 (equivalent to £3,166,620 in 2023) [3] Locke King decided during a European tour that Britain had to have its own motor testing track if its fledgling car industry were to develop and prosper in competition with Europe.

[citation needed] Locke King was spurred on by Selwyn Edge (1868–1940), an experienced racing driver and car dealer, to complete the project with his highly publicised challenge that he would drive the course in a Napier (Lion) single-handedly at a constant 60 mph for 24 hours without a rest break.