A Georgian three storey manor house was constructed to fill an awkward curving site to the rear of the layout. Original construction was from 3mm hard plastic, with internal stiffeners. All windows and doors from Wills SS42 Doors & windows pack, except the back door, a PECO product. The chimney stacks are 10mm square plastic box sections, clad with Slaters Plasticard brickwork. A temporary roof has been fitted from a piece Plasticard, awaiting the arrival of further suitable tiles. Several rooms are lit.

A scratch built lean-to greenhouse has been cut from 1.5mm sheet, clad with Plasticard brickwork for the base, glazed and fitted with shelves. The greenhouse is obviously well heated, as the owners have ripe peaches visible.

A Diorama base of 6mm play was cut to shape to represent the formal gardens and stable yard. Walls were produced, with etched brass fencing (Scale link sheet SLF125) to the front and south side (adjacent to the churchyard) and a most impressive set of gates (Scale link sheet SLF036), mounted on walls and pillars made using Wills SSMP227 English bond. The same material was used to make the wall between the stables and garden. These were attached to the ply using twin-pack adhesive, before scattering with flower beds and lawn built up by repeated application of Javis scatters, the drive using fine sand. Foliage and planting was added to the garden and greenhouse by Kay Earnshaw. A garage has yet to be constructed, to house the owners vehicles. This will be used to lead the eye away from the backdrop between the manor house and churchyard. The rear garden contains a Scots’ Pine hand-made by Kay,

The stable block was constructed as a low-relief backscene, with walls from Wills SSMP227 plastic sheets, roofs windows and gutters from PECO packs LK78 & LK79. These are mounted on a strip of 5mm foamboard, suitably pierced for windows and doors. Stable and carriage arch doors are from sheet plastic. Jointing the brick sheets necessitated a brick-course cut. This was not totally successful and has been disguised as a settlement crack (to the left of the carriage arch). The grooms’ quarters and stable are fitted with lighting. The stable also holds a horse donated by my daughter Rebecca, animated via a servo by Roy Holt.

To the front of the stables is a timbered farm barn typical of the area, made from coffee stirrers over a plastic core – courtesy of Hitchin station – and with a corrugated tin roof from thin styrene sheet, cut to typical sheet sizes and attached fairly randomly – just like the real thing. The roof has been tarred, but there are signs of rust breaking through.

My thanks to all my colleagues at Nene Valley Railway model railway group for their help and encouragement with this model, especially to John Earnshaw for painting, and Kay for vegetation.

No model is ever finished – no doubt I & colleagues will continue to add to this over the next few years. It is estimated the model has taken about 150 hours to produce, working between other jobs between January and August 2006.