Pendon Museum

About the museum

Pendon Museum was founded in 1954 by Roye England, an artist and craftsman with a passion for model railways. He began by making models of old local buildings that were being altered or demolished, and from this grew the idea of showing a whole stretch of countryside in miniature.

The museum's main exhibit is the Vale Scene, a model of the Vale of White Horse as it was between the wars, built at a scale of 1:76. It includes the imaginary village of Pendon Parva, whose buildings are based on real ones. The Dartmoor Scene, made in 1955, was first built to show off trains for the Vale layout and portrays an imaginary Great Western branch line running from South Devon into Cornwall, with a model of Brunel's timber viaduct at Walkham as its centrepiece. The Madder Valley Railway, built by John Ahern between 1941 and 1951, is a pioneering layout that placed the model railway within the towns and villages it served.

Pendon is an independent, accredited museum run by a charity and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It is funded by its visitors and by the Friends of Pendon. The museum is on two floors, and its aim is to explain a past era and a different way of life through exceptionally detailed models.

Highlights

• The Vale Scene: the Vale of White Horse in the 1930s
• Madder Valley Railway, a pioneering layout by John Ahern
• Dartmoor Scene with a model of Brunel's Walkham viaduct
• Family trails with a prize for completing them
• Junior model-making sessions in school holidays

Permanent exhibitions

• The Vale Scene – A large model of the Vale of White Horse as it was in the 1930s, recreating the calm of the countryside in miniature.
• Madder Valley Railway – John Ahern's pioneering model layout, which runs only on selected days of the year.
• The Dartmoor Scene – Pendon's first diorama, showing an imaginary Great Western branch line in the west of England.

Founded

1954

Operated by

Pendon Museum Trust

Admission & discounts

Tickets are bought at the museum. Individual Friends of Pendon (£22 a year) have free admission, and family Friends (£40 a year) have free admission for 2 adults and 2 children.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The first floor, with the Madder Valley Railway and the Dartmoor Gallery, is fully accessible. The second floor with the Vale Gallery is reached by a stair lift, and non-motorised wheelchairs can be carried upstairs; the Vale Gallery is on a ramp and the small temporary exhibition space has a step. Most models are about 1.4 metres above floor level, so periscopes and stools are available at reception for children and wheelchair users. There is an allocated parking space for visitors with mobility difficulties. Visitors who need help are asked to tell the museum in advance.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly: not available
• Baby changing facilities

I-spy style family trails for ages 6 and over, with a prize on completion. Free drop-in model-making sessions of about 30 minutes for ages 6 to 14 on Wednesdays in the school holidays, included in the admission price. The accessible toilet has baby-changing facilities. Prams are welcome downstairs and in the tea room but cannot be taken into the upstairs gallery; babies and young children can be carried.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi in most of the museum. The tea room sells hot and cold drinks, snacks and light refreshments. The shop sells railway and modelling books, 3D-printed figures and gifts. The Plough Inn in the village, five minutes' walk away, serves hot meals.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit