A painstakingly - created model landscapes encapsulates the essence of a rural Oxfordshire vale in bygone times
UNDER BLUE SKIES, a steam train puffs its way through the peaceful countryside. Rumbling over a bridge, its London-bound passengers catch a glimpse of a bus stopped on the road below, its driver disembarked and deep in conversation with a farmer filling his horse-drawn browser from the river. Pushing on, the train passes grazing sheep and horses, fields of ripe crops and harvest-time activities, before drawing into a village station. This is Pendon Parva, in the Vale of White Horse, but despite all the signs of activity, no passengers will alight. For Pendon Parva is an imaginary village sitting in a model landscape, painstakingly built, largely from card, to capture a slice of rural life in the vale in the 1920s and 1930s.
Known as the Vale Scene, this incredibly realistic layout is the centrepiece at Pendon Museum in Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire. Measuring more than 69ft by 30ft (21m x 9m) and covering more than 1,991sq ft (185sq m), it is the ongoing realisation of the dream of one man, Roye England. It speaks of a deep connection to the world it replicates, made all the more remarkable by the fact Roye was not born here, but half a world away, in Perth, Australia.
Arriving in Plymouth in 1925 as a young man of 18, he boarded the Star Class locomotive Westminster Abbey to travel to his new home and was immediately captivated. “Roye was inspired by two things that day. He fell in love with the Great Western Railway, because of the elegant locomotive, and with the English countryside, which was very characterful and green, and a great contrast to Perth,” says Chris Webber, museum curator and long-time volunteer at Pendon.
A visionary man
Denne historien er fra September/October 2017-utgaven av Landscape.
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Denne historien er fra September/October 2017-utgaven av Landscape.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Frost-Coated Waves
A Norfolk garden’s airy grasses and lingering seedheads create an inspiring sight of beauty, texture and movement in the winter months.
The Garden In... March And April
Kari-Astri Davies is settling in plants and sowing seeds to enjoy her garden in the months ahead.
Pots Of Sunshine
The most joyful early flowers, daffodils thrive in containers, creating bright spots of colour.
Dartmoor's Twisted Oaks
With its ancient moss-covered trees and boulder-strewn floor, Wistman’s Wood exudes an atmosphere of mystery.
Recreating The Living Past
A painstakingly - created model landscapes encapsulates the essence of a rural Oxfordshire vale in bygone times
The Wild Mushroom Hunter
Wayne Thomas uses his expert eye to forage for edible fungi in the woodlands of the Wye Valley
Flush Of Rich Perfume
The pink buds and flowers of Viburnum x bodnantense bring a sweet fragrance to frosty borders
Brewing A Heritage
A family business in the heart of the Black Country produces beer the traditional way
Bold Performers
Their striking appearance may belie a tender nature, but a long, colourful display earns Hebe speciosa hybrids a sheltered place in the garden
Mellowed In Time
At the foot of the South Downs sits an East Sussex garden where grasses wave in the wind and flowers thread through ribbons of foliage