Brooklands was the vision of Hugh Fortescue Locke King, a wealthy landowner who was concerned that Britain's motor industry was being disadvantaged by the country's 20 mph blanket speed limit on public roads. He commissioned Colonel Capel Lofft Holden of the Royal Artillery to design the circuit, and construction began in 1906 on King's own estate. The track was built in uncoated concrete rather than tarmacadam, as laying a surfaced road on steep banking proved impractical, and the resulting surface became increasingly bumpy over time as the concrete settled differentially.
The finished circuit was a 100-foot-wide banked oval of 2.767 miles, with banking nearly 30 feet high in places. A bisecting Finishing Straight extended the usable lap to 3.369 miles. The track could accommodate up to 287,000 spectators and opened on 17 June 1907 with a ceremonial procession of 43 cars. The first competitive event followed on 28–29 June, when three Napier cars driven by Selwyn Edge ran in the world's first 24-hour motor event. Edge drove solo for the full duration, covering 1,581.74 miles at an average speed of 65.91 mph, a record that stood for 17 years.
The first formal race meeting was held on 6 July 1907, attracting more than 10,000 spectators. Grand Prix motor racing was established at Brooklands in 1926, when Henry Segrave, following his victories at international Grands Prix, helped bring the inaugural British Grand Prix to the circuit. That race was won by Louis Wagner and Robert Sénéchal sharing a Delage 155B. A second British Grand Prix was held at Brooklands in 1927.
The inter-war years saw significant record-breaking activity at the circuit. In 1913, Percy Lambert became the first person to cover 100 miles in one hour, lapping in a 4.5-litre Talbot at 103 miles in 60 minutes. John Cobb set the all-time Brooklands lap record in the 24-litre Napier-Railton, achieving 143.44 mph (230.84 km/h), a mark that was never beaten before the circuit closed.
In 1930 a separate Mountain Circuit was created using movable barriers within the main track, running 1.168 miles from the Fork to the rear of Members' Hill and back. This shorter, more technical layout provided a different character of racing from the pure high-speed oval.
Women played a notable role in Brooklands history. Dorothy Levitt, described as Britain's first female racing driver, was refused entry to early events despite her credentials. Violette Cordery and her sister Evelyn set a distance record in July and August 1929, driving an Invicta 4.5 litre four-seater for 30,000 miles in under 30,000 minutes, earning Cordery a second Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club.
Brooklands closed to motor racing during both World Wars and was requisitioned for military aviation in each case. The aerodrome at Brooklands was one of Britain's first and most important flying centres. On 29 October 1909, Frenchman Louis Paulhan made the first official powered flight at Brooklands in a Farman biplane before a crowd of 20,000. Hilda Hewlett and Gustave Blondeau opened Britain's first flying school at Brooklands in 1910. Thomas Sopwith established his flying school there in 1912 and went on to set up the Sopwith Aviation Company, though manufacturing was based at Kingston upon Thames.
During World War I, Vickers Aviation built a factory at Brooklands from 1915, making it a major production and testing centre. During World War II the site produced the Vickers Wellington bomber and the Hawker Hurricane fighter. The Vickers factory was seriously damaged in a Luftwaffe bombing raid on 4 September 1940, with nearly 90 workers killed and over 400 injured. The Hawker factory was hit two days later. Despite the damage, the Hawker Hurricane's production continued with minimal disruption.
After the war the circuit was sold to Vickers-Armstrongs in 1946 for continued aircraft production. Subsequent aircraft designed and first flown at Brooklands included the Viscount, Vanguard, BAC One-Eleven, and VC10. The factory eventually became part of British Aerospace and closed on Christmas Day 1989.
Brooklands Museum was established in 1987 on a 30-acre heritage site in the northeast corner of the original circuit. Its collection includes a Vickers Wellington bomber recovered from Loch Ness in 1985, a British Airways Concorde, and numerous aircraft manufactured at the site. Surviving sections of the banked track remain visible, and the Byfleet Banking has been periodically cleared and maintained as a heritage structure.
The circuit's influence extended well beyond Britain. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which opened in 1909, drew inspiration from Brooklands' concept of a purpose-built banked oval. Brooklands established the template for dedicated motorsport facilities built to enable sustained high-speed testing free from public road restrictions, a model that shaped circuit design worldwide. The circuit has been recreated in several video games, including the 1999 PC and Dreamcast racing title Spirit of Speed 1937.