Model village to rear of The Old New Inn

This is a model village representing the centre of Bourton on the Water, built between 1936 and 1940. It is constructed to a scale of 1:9 and located to the rear of The Old New Inn.

The model is primarily built from large blocks of Cotswold limestone, with incised markings to simulate coursing and miniature Cotswold stone slate roofs. Glass is inset to represent windows. Miniature Cotswold dry-stone walls form the boundaries.

The layout of the model village accurately depicts the appearance of Bourton on the Water in the 1930s, extending from the old mill (now a motor museum) in the north to The Old New Inn in the south. It includes the High Street, the River Windrush, and parts of Station Road, Moore Road, Victoria Street, and Sherborne Street. The parish church is positioned slightly south of the model village, as it lies outside the area represented.

The buildings, numbering dozens, are faithful reproductions of full-size examples, mostly reflecting Cotswold vernacular architecture from the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. Some more formal buildings are also represented, such as Lloyds Bank, with a replica of its 18th-century three-storey façade with canted bays and a Venetian window, which stands over five feet high. The limestone ashlar construction ensures tight joints, which are incised to simulate coursed stone or left plain for an ashlar finish. Details like window tracery are faithfully reproduced, as are the dry-stone boundary walls with appropriate coping stones. All buildings are modelled in the round, with consistent detailing on rear and side elevations.

Two buildings feature visible interiors: St. Lawrence parish church displays a complete interior showcasing a medieval nave and Georgian tower, including pointed-arched arcades, miniature pews, and a screen, viewable through a perspex pane. Similarly, the Baptist chapel has a full set of interior fittings visible through its wheel window and another perspex pane. The River Windrush is accurately represented, with replicas of the 18th-century bridges in place. The model includes The Old New Inn, and within its garden, a further model of the village, at one-ninth the scale of the original.