Bourton-on-the-Water model village is a scale model village in the grounds of the Old New Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England. One of the first model villages in the country, it was started in 1936 and completed in 1940. The model represents the core of Bourton-on-the-Water as it appeared in 1936 in 1:9 scale. The model village contains around 100 buildings. It is open to the public and includes exhibitions of other models on smaller scales.
The Bourton-on-the-Water model village was one of the first to be built in England, being completed between 1936 and 1940. [1] Possibly the only earlier example is the Bekonscot model village in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, which is the oldest in the world, being begun in 1929, though not finished until the later 20th century. [2] [1] Bourton-on-the-Water was a fledgling tourist destination in the early 20th century and the landlord of the New Inn, Mr C A Morris, decided to build the model village to attract motorists to his public house. [3] [1] Morris had originally intended to convert the pub's vegetable garden into a village green with a stream with a waterfall and scale replicas of the arch bridges in the village. He soon decided to instead construct a 1:9 scale model of the entire village. [1]
Morris and his wife carefully measured each building in the village and commissioned eight local craftsmen to construct scale replicas of around 100 structures. [1] [3] The craftsmen were construction workers rather than model makers so the methods used were scaled down versions of those used to construct real buildings. The walls are made from ashlars of local limestone, carefully cut to minimise joints and engraved to depict smaller courses of stone. The roofs are covered with slates of Cotswold stone from the Huntsman's Quarry located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village. The drystone walls are real and have cock and hen or flatstone copings to correspond with the real walls in the village. Two of the buildings have full interiors, visible through perspex panels in their walls: the Church of England parish church of St Lawrence and the village's Baptist chapel. The church has intricate tracery windows and the windows on the models are glazed with real glass. The model village includes examples of 17th- to 19th-century Cotswold architecture. [1] A recording of hymns being sung is played from the village's churches. The roads include model benches and post boxes. Miniature shrubs, including some bonsai trees planted in the 1930s, and pruned real trees represent the trees and bushes of the full-size village and alpine plants the flowers. [3]
The model village covers the core of the historic village stretching from the Old Mill (now home to the Cotswold Motoring Museum) to the New Inn (which is now known as the Old New Inn). This includes High Street, Station Road, Moore Road, Victoria Street and Sherborne Street. The only building not shown in its correct relative position is St Lawrence's church, which would otherwise fall outside of the area covered. A running stream stands in for the River Windrush. [1]
The model village includes a scale model of the model village (which would be at 1:81 scale). This model, in turn, contains a scale model of the model of the model village; being at 1:729 scale this measures around 1 foot (30 cm) in width. This model also contains a scale model (in paint only) of the model of the model of the model village (which would be at 1:6561 scale). [4]
The model village opened to the public on 13 May 1937, as part of the celebrations for the coronation of George VI. The model village was the first tourist attraction in Bourton-on-the-Water; the village has since become one of the main tourist destinations in the Cotswolds. Construction of the models continued until 1940. No significant changes to the architecture have been made since, so the model village preserves Bourton-on-the-Water as it was in 1936, except that shop logos and window displays are updated to reflect changing occupants. [1]
The Morris family maintained and operated the site until 1999 when the model village and the Old New Inn were sold to Julian and Vicki Atherton. [5] [3] In 2004 they purchased a collection of 30 miniature scenes that had been on display in a shop in the village; these form a separate exhibition. [3] The model village became a grade II listed building on 22 March 2013, receiving the same protection as the early 18th-century Old New Inn, which was listed in 1983. [1] [6] In 2014 the Athertons bought a collection of seven 1:32 scale model buildings. These had been built by John Constable in Somerset, part funded by philanthropist Sir Paul Getty. They included a representation of Willy Lott's Cottage, the building depicted in John Constable's The Hay Wain . The collection, out of scale with the model village, were opened as a separate exhibition at the site. [7] In 2016 when renovations were made to the roof of the St Lawrence's Church model, a penny dated 1937 was recovered, which is believed to indicate the date of its construction. [3]
During the Athertons' ownership the village attracted around 100,000 visitors per year and was open every day except Christmas Day. [5] [3] The buildings remain outdoors all year round, while some model villages close in the winter when the models are put into storage. [3] The Athertons employed a full time stone mason to repair damage caused by frost as well as three other employees to repaint the models and maintain the trees and bushes. [8] [3]
In April 2018 the Old New Inn and model village were put up for sale as the Athertons retired. The pub and model village were purchased by Andrew and Julie Lund-Yates, who had lived in Bourton-on-the-Water for 25 years. [5] [8]
The Cotswolds is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties: mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. The highest point is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), just east of Cheltenham. The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
Bekonscot Model Village and Railway is a model village built in the 1920s in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, UK at a scale of one inch to one foot. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s and contains several fictitious villages featuring replicas of notable local buildings. The model railway has almost 10 scale miles of tracks and in 2001, a 7 1/4 in gauge railway was opened to transport visitors. Bekonscot has become both a popular tourist location and a part of English culture. It is commonly referred to as the oldest surviving model village in the UK and by 2020, had received over 14 million visitors. Authors such as Enid Blyton, Mary Norton and Will Self have been inspired by the village.
Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village centre is a designated Conservation Area.
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about 2 miles (3 km) east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census recorded the merged parish's population as 198.
Broadway is a large village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, England, with a population of 2,540 at the 2011 census. It is in the far southeast of Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. It is sometimes referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds".
The Cotswolds was a constituency in Gloucestershire in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Conservative, since its 1997 creation.
Northleach is a market town and former civil parish, now in parish Northleach with Eastington, in the Cotswold district, in Gloucestershire, England. The town is in the valley of the River Leach in the Cotswolds, about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Cirencester and 11 miles (18 km) east-southeast of Cheltenham. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,854, the same as Northleach built-up-area.
The River Eye is a short river in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire which flows for 7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) through the villages of Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter. The river is home to brown trout.
Andoversford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Cheltenham. The village is on the River Coln, parallel to the A40.The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 555. In 2019 the parish a population of 905.
Bourton-on-the-Hill is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, and about 2 miles (3 km) west of Moreton-in-Marsh. In 2010 it had an estimated population of 288. The village overlooks the surrounding hills of the Cotswolds and lies on the Heart of England Way, which heads southwards to Bourton-on-the-Water and northwards to Cannock Chase. The village is also connected by a footpath to the Cotswold Way, via Blockley and Chipping Campden.
A miniature park is a display of miniature buildings and models, usually as a recreational and tourist attraction open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models.
Selsley is a village within the civil parish of King's Stanley and district of Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. It is composed of around 175 houses, scattered around the western and eastern edge of a Cotswold spur, located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Stroud.
Withington is a Cotswold village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Cheltenham and 8 miles (13 km) north of Cirencester. The River Coln runs through the village. The parish includes the hamlets of Hilcot, Foxcote and Cassey Compton. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was 532.
Cotswold School is an 11 to 18 academy school located in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, Great Britain. The school achieved academy status in September 2010. The principal from 2012 is Mr Will Morgan. In 2023, the schools had 1430 students.
Upper Slaughter is a village in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south west of Stow-on-the-Wold. The village lies off the A429, which is known as the Fosse Way, and is located one mile away from its twin village Lower Slaughter, as well as being near the villages Bourton-on-the-Water, Daylesford, Upper Swell and Lower Swell. It is built on both banks of the River Eye. The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter.
Cold Aston is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately 18 miles (29 km) to the east of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2011 census, the population was 255.
Notgrove is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately 28.5 to the east of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, a previously-named Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, now the Cotswolds National Landscape.
Bourton-on-the-Water railway station was a Gloucestershire railway station on the Great Western Railway's Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway which opened in 1881 and closed in 1964.
