Few would disagree with the view of a Harpenden Town Councillor that Harpenden Common is ‘the jewel in the town’s crown.’ The vast tract of common grassland sweeping you into the town centre from the south is home to a golf club, two cricket clubs, a football club and the occasional fair and circus. Yet this Green Flag Award-winning area still provides acres of recreational space for residents and visitors.
Since 1994, for one day a year, this idyllic scene is interrupted for a few hours for what has become one of the biggest mid-week classic car shows in Britain. Classics on the Common was the brain-child of classic car enthusiasts John Tibble, then landlord of the Carpenters Arms, and Peter Madden, a Harpenden resident and Metropolitan Police officer. The first year’s show attracted 125 cars. In 2023, our 29th year, upwards of 1,000 classics vehicles, motorcycles and scooters arrived on Harpenden Common from all over the UK. According to senior Rotary sources, the event can be seen from space!
And there’s never any shortage of admirers. Thousands of spectators spend hours admiring the mouth-watering collection.
For our show a classic vehicle has to be at least 25 years old but we usually have one or two from around a century ago, such as a 1913 model T Ford and a 1916 Stanley Steamer. Every decade following is well represented, too, from Rolls Royces and Maseratis to Austin A40s and Morris Minors. We’ve even had a Sinclair C5. We like to encourage diversity and invite some ‘supercars’ to the event.
In 2009 Harpenden Village Rotary Club took over responsibility for organising and running the show and in 2016 the charity Rotary in Harpenden took over. Rotarians are no strangers to running events and, although we have over 40 members, we need another 50 volunteers to help make the day a success.
We are very grateful to have our numbers boosted by members of our associated club, Harpenden Village Inner Wheel. Other helpers include Harpenden Round Table, 41 Club and Harpenden Lions Club. Volunteers from the principal charities supported by the show get involved in bucket collections during the day. Also, we could not put on the event without the active support of friends and family. Our gratitude goes also to our sponsor, Harpenden Town Council, and the police and emergency services for their continued support.
At heart, Classics on the Common remains a community event. Its charity fundraising is significant, too: since Rotary took on organising the show in 2009, £444,000 has been distributed to local, children’s, national and international charities.
Classic vehicle owners make a donation to enter and, although there is no entry charge to the public, spectators have always responded generously when approached with collecting buckets.
We encourage local businesses linked to the motoring market by having stalls where they can sell their products or by taking banner advertising. In recent years, local motoring companies have been able to take space to display their newest models.
After COVID disrupted the event in 2020 and 2021, the 2022 show was back to its traditional date in late July. Vehicle numbers were close to the record of 1,100. Exceptional spectators generosity led to funds raised for charity reaching £40,000.
The combination of inflation and late-afternoon rain caused our fundraising to fall to £34,000 in 2023, but that is still our third best year for charity donations.
The success of the event continued in 2024 and 2025, aided by glorious weather each year. Despite ever rising costs, net charity donations in 2024 were again £33,000.
Charities donations were £30,000 in 2025, the reduction being mainly due to the use of contractors for marshalling and erection of fencing, reducing the reliance on our hard working team of volunteers.
See report and photos from the 2025 show below.
We encourage all classic entrants who are UK taxpayers to tick the Gift Aid box on the Ticket Application form. This allows us to claim from the taxman an extra 25% of the value of their entry fee donation, without any extra cost to them, and increase the amount we are able to donate to charity.
Classics on the Common 2025
Will it rain, will it not? But it was “Classics Day” and, of course, we defied those pesky weather apps and produced a beautiful warm, but not too warm, day as thousands came on to Harpenden Common to enjoy Rotary in Harpenden Classics on the Common, one of the biggest one-day classic car shows in the country.
We don’t put the vehicles in any order, so your eyes are drawn to cars from twenties onwards, side by side, from all over the motoring world, each of them demonstrating outstanding dedication and care that only classic car owners lavish on their vehicles. Some are strongly tied to the original styling while others like to embellish the original car with vibrant colours flared arches and wide wheels. Looking very difficult to drive, but since we insist on road worthy vehicles brought under their own steam, they obviously can be, braving the lumps and bumps of the common land.
Please view the photo galleries on the website and videos on YouTube, to see the amazing range of vehicles. Curiosities like the Sherman tank and the arrival of a Sinclair C5 sparked interest until the Sinclair driver was asked to produce his internal combustion engine! He left.
For Rotary in Harpenden, Classics on the Common is our signature event producing thousands of pounds for charity thanks to our exhibitors, commercial sponsors, stall holders and spectators who turn up in such numbers every year. For the community, classic car enthusiasts mix with local families and their children to enjoy a wonderful afternoon out, hopefully also giving a lift to hard-pressed local catering and drinks businesses.
Event manager Liz Jack said of the show, “Rotary in Harpenden is pleased and proud to organise Classics on the Common. I must thank the effort and enthusiasm of the Classics Committee, all our Rotary in Harpenden members and the army of volunteers who made it happen and, once again, the people of Harpenden who have shown their wonderful generosity.
“We would also like to thank Harpenden Council, the police and emergency services for their continuing support.”
The net proceeds from the 2025 event were distributed to our four chosen charities: Keech Hospice, Rotary Foundation, Hertfordshire Scouts, Empowering Kids in Kenya and other worthy causes.
2025 Gallery
Gallery photographs by Steve Collins Photography
Aerial Photography 2025
Aerial photographs by Richard Washbrooke Photography