The entire collection of a classic car museum in Somerset,England, will go under the hammer next month.

Today everything is locked away behind glass cabinets but in this museum the public could touch the cars, open their doors and look inside, and flick through the old photo albums

The Exmoor Classic Car Collection, the retirement project of collector Stephen Johns, will be sold by Bonhams.

The specialist museum, in Porlock in Somerset, was set up by Mr Johns when he moved to the West Country 12 years ago.

Mr Johns, an entrepreneur who ran a pyjama manufacturing business in Keighley, West Yorkshire for 45 years, started up the museum to house the large collection he had built up over the years.

Highlights among the 10 cars, 13 motorcycles and assorted automobilia he amassed are:

• A 1972 Ferrari 246GTS Dino Spyder, expected to fetch between €127,350 and €152,821.

• A 1927 Bugatti Type 40 tourer, expected to fetch between €101,000 and €127,350.

• A 1923 Rolls-Royce 20hp Doctor’s Coupé by Mitchells of Nottingham, estimated to sell for between €48,393 and €57,308.

Other lots of interest are a 1930 Singer Porlock Sports Junior bought by Mr Johns because of the connection between its name and the location of the museum, and a 1948 DOT 125cc AA motorcycle truck that is the only one of its type.

Tim Schofield, director of the Bonhams motor car department, said: “The Exmoor Classic Car Museum could be described as every motoring enthusiast’s dream. Museums like it don’t really tend to exist today. When you walked through the doors it was like walking into some forgotten past.

“Today everything is locked away behind glass cabinets but in this museum the public could touch the cars, open their doors and look inside, and flick through the old photo albums.

“It will be a great shame to see it close but Bonhams wishes Mr Johns the very best for his second retirement.”

The collection will go under the hammer at the Bonhams Beaulieu Sale in Hampshire on September 8.