Scratchbuild like Chris Leigh

Chris Leigh lists the buildings he considers to be of particular interest from both historical and modelling perspectives.

Most Model Rail readers will know that my particular modelling interest is buildings. I became interested in railway buildings when, as a teenager, I stumbled on the derelict remains of Fairford station. That was followed by other discoveries, including Tetbury and the very unusual terminus in my home town of Staines.

I was soon intoxicated by the smells of these old places, musty mixtures of ancient paint, damp, mildew and dry rot, sometimes with the sickly aroma of oil lamps and old cigarette smoke. What attracted me to non-railway buildings is less certain, although it was undoubtedly enhanced by the purchase of my first home in 1973.

That house, in Windsor, was described on the documents as an ‘artisan’s dwelling’. It was a two-bedroomed cottage in the middle of a row of nine, called Bryn Terrace, built in 1883 or thereabouts. I had to put two new windows in the back, but otherwise I could not afford any further modernisation. It had previously been occupied by a coachman from the castle and I found various relics, including an enormous horseshoe, which I still have. It was the history of the house that interested me.

I had become acutely aware during the post-beeching era of how quickly bulldozers alter a site. I have, therefore, long been drawn to buildings that faced demolition or substantial alteration. I suppose one might call it ‘Roye England Syndrome’. Roye was the Australian who came to England in the 1920s and saw thatched roofs being replaced with tiles. It prompted him to photograph and model these places… and thus began Pendon Museum.

Here is a list of ten of my favourite buildings, some I’ve modelled and others that I’d love to model one day. They’re not in any particular order, save that ‘Lallybroch’ is currently on my workbench and makes an imposing model in 4mm:1ft scale. What alarms me is that only two of my ten are safe from demolition, dereliction or alteration, and one of those is no bigger than a platelayers’ hut.