At Pendon we aim to recapture, in detailed and colourful miniature, scenes showing the beauty of the English countryside as it used to be in the years around 1930. Realistically modelled cottages like the one pictured above, farms, fields and lanes recall the peaceful country ways of that period. Cavalcades of trains, accurately represented, provide a fascinating record of the railways of the time. Pendon is being created entirely by volunteer modellers who work to the most exacting standards. The photograph above shows the work of the late Roye England, the Museum's founder. It is just one of the many fine model buildings in the Vale Scene.

Pendon is enjoyed by people of all generations and with many different interests. You can watch a fascinating collection of model trains go by on the Dartmoor Scene, or spend hours taking in the detail of the model village in the Vale Scene. Our volunteer staff is there to make your visit as enjoyable and informative as possible, and will be only too happy to tell you more about anything you see at the Museum.

Pendon Museum is building an ambitious model of the countryside of the Vale of the White Horse as it was in the 1930's. The Vale Scene model is still under construction, but already you can see a substantial part of the village of Pendon Parva built around an ancient hill-fort, the agricultural landscape surrounding the village, and the derelict Wilts. and Berks. canal. And of course there is the Great Western Railway main line sweeping from the junction station at Pendon Parva through the fields on its way from London to West Country and the Midlands.

Pendon also houses two other important models. The Dartmoor Scene is an earlier work by the Pendon team which includes a magnificent model of one of Brunel's splendid timber trestle bridges set amid the tors of Dartmoor. The Dartmoor Scene is fully operational, and a fascinating sequence of trains is shown with full commentary from Museum staff.

The Madder Valley scene is a landmark in railway modelling, dating from the 1930's, and built by the late John Ahern. It was the first model railway to be set in a fully developed landscape, complete with towns and countryside. The Madder Valley railway is normally a static exhibit, but it is operated on special occasions, which are publicised well in advance in the model press, and on this site.

In the last few years Pendon Museum has been displaying, on permanent loan, those exquisite architectural models built by John Warner and Gerry Hall, affectionately known to exhibition regulars as the "John and Gerry Show". The buildings include two churches, Tetbury station and a scene based on The Shambles in York but which includes buildings from other locations. These buildings are worth spending time studying in their own right for, surely, they represent a peak in small scale architectural modelling. Detailed pictures will be put on this website in the near future.

The Museum also houses a collection of railway relics, and from time to time special exhibitions are on display, currently these are; Go Great Western - Speed to the West until Spring 2008, The Letcombe Brook Project Jan 5th to March 30th 2008 then Building in the vernacular - an exploration of local building techniques from Apr 5th to the end of 2008.

Pendon Museum Trust Ltd. Long Wittenham Abingdon Oxon. OX14 4QD
Registered in England 682542 Registered Charity No. 313614