Village People
| Thursday 2 September, 2004 |
As every Walter Mitty fantasist knows, Gulliver travelled to Lilliput and not Vauxhall Park. How then to explain the estate of sculptured cottages that are scattered around one corner of the SW8 public space? Freak dwarf Kylie's new South London pad?
Vauxhall Village (it's not REAL you know...) was built in 1949 by local Norwood model maker Edgar Wilson. The little splendour in South London is the only remaining testimony of Wilson's work in the UK, with the only other surviving village down under in Australia.
Having made the decision to construct Little England nearby to Little Porto, what is so puzzling is the conformity on offer. Brookside Close resembles Costain Homes 'cos it’s the cheap option. You would have thought that the budget for these matchstick models would have at least stretched to some originality.
But maybe we all feel safe in our identikit little castles? If after being cast for Honey I Shrunk the Kids and I was put up in Vauxhall Park for the night, I would feel anything but safe with the constant stream of dog's piss being rained down on your front windows from above.
With London property prices still failing to find their level, what chances a For Sale sign outside one of the miniature models within the next six months? £50,000 for a flat fit for a dwarf, slightly urine stained frontage with similar property backing on.
Fantasy land.
(click on thumbs to see large image)
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