Very sad news this morning - Missenden Abbey is up for sale and closing after the 30th November.
What the future of the courses will be remains to be seen. Before being at Missenden Abbey, the courses began at Hassocks in Sussex in 1971. They moved to Missenden Abbey in 1981 and have been there ever since. The formula for the past 30 or so years has been incredibly successful and contributed enormously to the skills of railway modellers, to the many who have attended the courses and to many, many more when those skills have been passed on through demonstrators at shows, in clubs and between friends. Those who have attended have, for many years, been referred to as Missendenites and become a community, weekends (and the Summer Retreat) being very much a social event as much as a learning experience.
The hobby owes a great deal to the many tutors whose skills in so many areas of the hobby have been patiently and willingly passed on over the years. There are many names (the list is long) well known in the hobby and model railway press, but we should acknowledge the particular the contribution Chris Langdon has made keeping the courses going after the death of Martin Brent and developing them into what we have enjoyed and benefitted from over so many years. We must also acknowledge all those who have helped in the organisation of the events, every one doing so voluntarily.
The loss of Missenden will be felt far beyond those who attend, so we will watch with interest and hope something can continue.
What the future of the courses will be remains to be seen. Before being at Missenden Abbey, the courses began at Hassocks in Sussex in 1971. They moved to Missenden Abbey in 1981 and have been there ever since. The formula for the past 30 or so years has been incredibly successful and contributed enormously to the skills of railway modellers, to the many who have attended the courses and to many, many more when those skills have been passed on through demonstrators at shows, in clubs and between friends. Those who have attended have, for many years, been referred to as Missendenites and become a community, weekends (and the Summer Retreat) being very much a social event as much as a learning experience.
The hobby owes a great deal to the many tutors whose skills in so many areas of the hobby have been patiently and willingly passed on over the years. There are many names (the list is long) well known in the hobby and model railway press, but we should acknowledge the particular the contribution Chris Langdon has made keeping the courses going after the death of Martin Brent and developing them into what we have enjoyed and benefitted from over so many years. We must also acknowledge all those who have helped in the organisation of the events, every one doing so voluntarily.
The loss of Missenden will be felt far beyond those who attend, so we will watch with interest and hope something can continue.
