As a young boy, Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth (1909-1940) was happiest tinkering with cars and any available mechanical device. He was commissioned at Sandhurst as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 16th/5th Lancers, but after inheriting the family fortune and Old Warden Park at the age of 23, he left to concentrate on the management of the estate.

Richard built up a sizeable collection of old cars and aeroplanes, restoring them to working order. These now form the nucleus of the Collection at Old Warden Aerodrome, which was also constructed by him. He had a very successful racing career, culminating in the winning of the first British Grand Prix at Donnington Park in 1935 driving his 2.5 litre Alfa Romeo Monoposto. He raced at Grand Prix worldwide and participated in the South African Grand Prix where his car went out of control and he was badly hurt. He took up flying instead because 'it was safer'!

At the outbreak of war Richard joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to RAF Benson for night flying experience. On night training exercise in August 1940 flying a Fairey Battle his aircraft crashed into a hill.

His mother Dorothy, although devastated by the loss of her son, set up the mansion as a Red Cross Convalescent Home for injured airmen and created a small chapel, dedicated to Richard. In 1944 she decided to place the estate in a charitable Trust in memory of Richard, thus ensuring that it would continue as one entity to be used for the purpose of agricultural and aviation education, two interests that Richard was especially keen on.

Shuttleworth College first opened its doors to students in 1946 based inside the main house, today the College is thriving and is closely associated with Writtle College in Essex. The Shuttleworth Collection of historic Aircraft opened to the public in 1963, steadily increasing in size and its regular air displays draw crowds from all over the world. As well as these principal activities, Old Warden Park is now home to the English School of Falconry.

Panoramic views of the Collection are available here and here.

The Collection of historic vehicles and aeroplanes is unique in that everything is kept in working condition and are demonstrated at events throughout the year. The extensive collection fills eight large hangers, including a workshop where you can see vehicles being worked on, and a seperate coach room for horse-drawn carriages. Shuttleworth is frequently used as a rallying point for vintage and antique vehicle clubs. Aircraft on display in 2008 included:

G-EBJO ANEC II
H5199 Avro 504K [G-ADEV]
G-AHKX Avro XIX
G-ARSG Avro Triplane IV replica [BAPC-1]
'K3241' Avro Tutor [K3215/G-AHSA]
G-AFCL B.A. Swallow II
G-AANI Blackburn Monoplane Type D [BAPC-5]
G-AEBJ Blackburn B2
14 Bleriot XI [BAPC-3, G-AANG]
G-ASPP Bristol Boxkite replica [BAPC-2)
D8096 Bristol F.2b Fighter [G-AEPH]
'D7889' Bristol F.2b Fighter [G-AANM]
'C4918' Bristol M.1C replica
'GL+SU' Bucker Bu 181 Bestmann [G-GLSU]
'GD+EG' CASA 1.131E Jungmann [E.3B-305, G-RETA]
G-ACTF Comper Swift
G-EBIR de Havilland D.H.51
G-EBHX de Havilland D.H.53 Humming Bird
G-EBLV de Havilland D.H.60 Cirrus Moth
G-EBWD de Havilland D.H.60X Hermes Moth
G-ABAG de Havilland D.H.60G Gipsy Moth
'K2585' de Havilland D.H.82A Tiger Moth II [T6818/G-ANKT]
G-ACSS/34 de Havilland D.H.88 Comet
'671' de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.22A [G-BNZC]
G-AANH Deperdussin Monoplane [BAPC-4]
G-AAPZ Desoutter I
G-EBNV English Electric Wren '4' [BAPC-11]
G-STCH Fieseler Fi 156A-1 Storch
'D-2692' Focke Wulf Fw 44J Stieglitz [G-STIG]
- Fokker Dr.I repro [G-FOKK]
'K7985' Gloster Gladiator I [L8032/G-AMRK]
G-ABXL Granger Archaeopteryx
G-CAMM Hawker Cygnet repro
'K5414' Hawker Hind [G-AENP]
Z7015/7-L Hawker Sea Hurricane IB
K1786 Hawker Tomtit [G-AFTA]
XF603 Hunting Provost T.1 [G-KAPW]
- Messerschmitt Me 163 FSM
G-AEBB Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
P6382 Miles Magister I [G-AJDR]
G-AAIN Parnall Elf II
VS610 Percival Prentice T.1 [G-AOKL]
'9' Polikarpov Po-2 [ZK-POZ]
F904 RAF SE.5A [G-EBIA]
XA241 Slingsby Grasshopper TX.1
G-EAGA Sopwith Dove replica
'N6181' Sopwith Pup [G-EBKY]
'N6290' Sopwith Triplane replica [G-BOCK]
G-AAYX Southern Martlet
AR501/NN-A Supermarine Spitfire LF.VC [G-AWII]
'V9441'/AR-A Westland Lysander IIIA [G-AZWT]
Also resident but privately owned:
G-AOTK Druine Turbi
ETE Fauvel AV.36 glider [BGA.2932]
'NQ+NR' Klemm Kl 35D [D-EQXD]
G-BYSF Luscombe Silvaire
G-AEEG Miles Falcon
G-AKKH Miles Gemini 1A
N3788 Miles Magister I [G-AKPF]
854 Ryan PT-22 Recruit [G-BTBH]
G-BYPY Ryan ST-3KR
G-AFWT Tipsy Belfair