Tucktonia was a late 1970s

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

located on Stour Road,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, Dorset, England. It was officially opened on 23 May 1976 by Arthur Askey. It originally occupied of the Tuckton Park Leisure Complex. The park was closed down in 1986. The site has since been redeveloped for residential use.

General information

The park was best known for its large

model village A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. Although the villages are located close to the workplace, they are generally phys ...

layout, which included a representation of London. The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

ride-on

steam train A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

and some additional fixtures and fittings, were moved to the

Moors Valley Railway The Moors Valley Railway is a narrow gauge passenger railway, in the Moors Valley Country Park at Ashley Heath, Dorset, England near Ringwood in Hampshire. There are 20 steam engines and 2 diesel engines. The railway is fully signalled, w ...

in the Moors Valley Country Park near Ringwood, Hampshire. It is rumoured that just prior to the closure of the park, the owners wanted to build a

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are ...

at the rear of the site, but were refused permission by the local

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

. Following the refusal, the park closed shortly afterwards.

Bekonscot Bekonscot in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, is the oldest original model village in the world. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s. Bekonscot was first created in the 1920s by a Beaconsfield resident, Roland Calling ...

Model Village in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

provided much inspiration for the designers, one of whom had his office near Bekonscot and was a frequent visitor. The bulk of the models were built by KLF Ltd, who later went on to design similar models at Britannia Park in Derbyshire (known as "The American Adventure" theme park by the time of its demise in 2006). Tucktonia was the brainchild of former double British Formula 3 champion Harry Stiller who was still living in the area in 2006, before his death in 2018. Some sources claim that the miniature London landmarks were destroyed during the making of the 1985 alien invasion movie '' Lifeforce'', and that the entire model village was destroyed when the park closed. However, other sources claim that, while the model village was used as the miniature set for the filming of ''Lifeforce'', the visual effects crew actually used their own destructible miniatures in the Tucktonia streets. The model of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

survives; this was acquired, restored and put on display at the Wimborne Model Town,

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of P ...

in 2002, and moved to

Merrivale Model Village Merrivale is a placename: ;South Africa * Merrivale, KwaZulu-Natal is a small town in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal Province * Merrivale, Gauteng was a small gold mining town in Gauteng but now a military facility. * Merrivale, Durban is a suburb ...

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

in 2006. There are numerous unsubstantiated rumours that the models were not destroyed after the closure of the park – the main one being that they were instead placed into storage within a

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...

where they remained until 2001, when the building burnt down.

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' show broadcast live from the park on one occasion. The park's model London was used extensively in the obscure 1976

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

spoof

Queen Kong ''Queen Kong'' is a 1976 British-German adventure comedy film parodying ''King Kong''. The film was never released theatrically in the United Kingdom, due to legal action by Dino De Laurentiis, producer of the 1976 ''King Kong'' remake and ...

Places and buildings featured in the model village

* Christchurch Priory *

Prospect of Whitby (London pub) The Prospect of Whitby is a historic public house on the banks of the Thames at Wapping in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lays claim to being the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from around 1520. History The tavern was fo ...

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

, Great Britain – a re-creation of a "typical" British High Street * London's

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, The

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfar ...

, The

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

, Westminster Bridge,

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

, HMS "Discovery", The National Westminster Tower, Piccadilly Circus

Rides and attractions present whilst the park was operating

After closure

After the park closed in 1986, the buildings and fixtures were cleared and the land used at first for a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

called "The Olde Colonial", then, at a later date, "Bar Max". These were housed in the original buildings built by Harry Stiller and operated by him and known as the Golfer's Arms. This was a highly popular venue for both locals and tourists alike and featured the Raceway bar, where one of Harry Stiller's original race cars was a centrepiece on one of the walls in the main bar. At a later date in the 1990s these buildings were cleared, and a number of retirement

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

were built. These currently occupy the former site.

References

External links

Moors Valley RailwayOriginal Tucktonia Brochures and other memorabiliaBBC Radio Solent's Jon Cuthill goes in search of Tucktonia
{{Christchurch, Dorset History of Christchurch, Dorset Defunct amusement parks in the United Kingdom Defunct amusement parks in England Amusement parks in England Buildings and structures in Christchurch, Dorset Miniature parks Tourist attractions in Christchurch, Dorset 1976 establishments in England 1986 disestablishments in England Amusement parks opened in 1976 Amusement parks closed in 1986