July 20th, 2024

A Physical instance of recursion, from 1936

The Bourton-on-the-Water model village in Gloucestershire, England, is a detailed 1:9 scale replica of the town from 1936. Featuring 100 buildings, real glass windows, and a miniature River Windrush, it has been a popular attraction since completion in 1940. Ownership changed to Andrew and Julie Lund-Yates in 2018.

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A Physical instance of recursion, from 1936

The Bourton-on-the-Water model village is a scale replica located in Gloucestershire, England, representing the core of Bourton-on-the-Water as it appeared in 1936 in 1:9 scale. Started in 1936 and completed in 1940, it contains around 100 buildings and is open to the public. The model village includes intricate details such as real glass windows, miniature shrubs, and a running stream representing the River Windrush. The site has been well maintained since its construction, with the only changes being updates to shop logos and window displays. Over the years, the model village has attracted many visitors and became a grade II listed building in 2013. The ownership of the model village and the Old New Inn has changed hands over the years, with the latest purchase made by Andrew and Julie Lund-Yates in 2018. The village remains open year-round and requires regular maintenance to preserve its charm and historical accuracy.

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By @wanderingstan - 8 months
The key section being:

> The model village includes a scale model of the model village (which would be at 1:81 scale). This model, in turn, contains a scale model of the model of the model village; being at 1:729 scale this measures around 1 foot (30 cm) in width. This model also contains a scale model (in paint only) of the model of the model of the model village (which would be at 1:6561 scale).

By @kurthr - 8 months
To me the 90deg rotation along with the 9:1 scaling is what makes the recursion more compelling. In total it makes a full 360 rotation and 6561 scaling.

Also, then noticed that the sqrt(10) is almost exactly 256/81, the 4th root of 10 almost 16/9, and the 8th root almost 4/3.

Too bad the Vegas sphere is 21:9.

By @phoyd - 8 months
By @crdrost - 8 months
By @ajb - 8 months
This submission was supposed to point here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourton-on-the-Water_model_vil...

But the URL seems to have been truncated to point to the whole article.

By @whall6 - 8 months
Is this the setting of the final scene in hot fuzz?
By @timetraveller26 - 8 months