The model Village at Bourton on the water

The idea for the Model Village came from the landlord of the local pub, the Old New Inn. His name was Mr. C. A. Morris. In 1935 he decided to make his vegetable garden into something more interesting. He had various ideas but the decision was made to model the village in which he lived.

Every building was made carefully to scale of one-ninth of the original. In the end, there were six men working on the model. It took them four years to finish. One of the most fascinating aspect of the village is the miniature River Windrush. This is an artificial stream just under a metre wide flowing through the whole length of the village. Five little stone bridges cross it. All are accurate copies of the famous bridges in Bourton. Even the trees have been kept especially small so that they all add to the special effect. In the Church of St. Lawrence, you can hear voices of the choir, which were specially recorded. They are played from a loudspeaker hidden inside the main part of the church. The Baptist church also plays recorded music. The recordings at both churches were made by the choirs and congregations at the real churches in Bourton.

All the shops in the Model Village have goods on display in their windows. All are made to scale - a butcher’s, grocer’s, baker’s, the post office, and the blacksmith’s. There is even a model of the Old New Inn, and in its garden is a model of the model with a tiny stream running through it. And this is built one-ninth smaller than the model!

Over 200 tonnes of local Cotswold stone were brought to the site for the buildings. Most of it was carried in the trailer of  Morris’s car. This stone is quite distinctive in this part of miles from Bourton.

To make it easier to see the village at ground level, Mr. Morris constructed a special periscope. This works in the opposite way  to a normal  periscope. As you look through it, it seems that you are only a few centimetres high. The buildings look real size.

Mr. Morris’s idea has been copied by many people in Britain and in other parts of the world. There is, however, no better example of the modeler’s and talent.