Plea for help answered as model village is restored
Locals have rallied around to rebuild a model village that was rotting away in an elderly widow’s front garden. The model village in Wicken, Cambridgeshire was built by husband and wife team, Oliver and Pat Bullman, over a 50 year period and includes everything you’d expect to find in an English village: a windmill, a fire station, railway station, hotel, church and of course a fish and chip shop.
Following Oliver’s death in 2012, the village began to crumble away, prompting Pat to appeal for help in rescuing what had become a tourist attraction. Her prayers were answered when two locals came to the rescue. Only around half a dozen buildings had to be rebuilt from scratch. The originals that did pass muster got a lick of paint, while bases with rubber feet were added to the bottoms to prevent water getting in. Thanks to their efforts, the village is due to reopen on what would have been Oliver Bullman’s birthday next month. The HEN salutes these two model citizens.