Over 70 years of family days out.
About the Model Town.
Wimborne Model Town is a 1/10th scale of the centre of Wimborne as it was in the 1950s. The attraction opened in 1952 and last year we celebrated our 70th Anniversary and we are proud to be a community charity mainly staffed by volunteers.
The vintage miniature world of Wimborne Model Town offers you, the visitor, the opportunity to walk around the Wimborne Town Centre of more than 70 years ago. Set on nearly a one acre site with mature gardens and complementary facilities, and with increasing details added over the years, you can get really close up and even touch the buildings.
Our History
Wimborne Model Town was conceived on the back of the post war tourism boom by local businessman Charles Coffen after a visit to Bourton on the Water Model Village in the late 1940s.
Following a detailed survey of Wimborne's town centre architecture, building commenced on a 1/3 acre site at West Row behind the Cornmarket. The new attraction opened to paying visitors in August 1952 and was completed around 1956. The attraction was very successful for two decades until a change of ownership and change of holiday destinations by the public brought about decline in the late 1970s and finally closure in 1983.
The site was sold for development and the miniature buildings languished until a new charity was set up and a new green field site found in King Street. The same structures were rebuilt with a volunteer force and the site developed from 1988 to 1991 when Wimborne Model Town reopened - run by volunteers. It continues to do so as we welcome new generations of visitors from across Britain and the world.
