When Combermere Abbey’s owner, Sarah Callander Beckett, was creating the wedding venue from the Walled Garden, with the Edwardian Glasshouse at its north end, she commissioned a table-top metal model of the whole area – partly to see what it would look like, and partly for fun. It was made for her by TimeCast of Kendal Road in Shrewsbury, who make models of all kinds but specialise in architecture in miniature. It was created to a scale of 1:220.

What you see the Glasshouse as it is now, with the two wings – which were beyond restoration – removed. The fruit tree maze is also in place. There are three modern pavilions shown, but one, larger one was eventually built. The model was rather forgotten as the years passed, but it has now been re-discovered. It’s interesting to compare the model with a very recent aerial photograph (drone having made aerial photography affordable since it was made), which shows just how accurate it is.

The model is in excellent condition and will now be displayed. It will be particularly useful for brides-to-be to envisage the scale of the gardens and get a feel for how they look in their entirety.