Henry Ford's huge 'souvenir' from the Cotswolds

Many of us enjoy taking souvenirs home from our holidays, but when you are the world's richest man the souvenirs can be much bigger.

In the 1920s Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was besotted with the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, and decided that he wanted to own a piece of it.

"He loved the region, and quietly worked with his English agent, Herbert Morton, to find a building that was for sale to acquire it," said Jim Johnson, director of Greenfield Village.

The Village - and nearby Henry Ford Museum - were founded in Michigan by Ford in 1929 to collect objects that were being lost to a changing society, thanks in part to Ford's own invention, the Model T motor car.

2 September 2023