WHEN Alan Simpson started a project to re-build a more than 60 year old model village little did he know just how labour intensive this mission would become.

Now, four months later, the incredibly intricate model of Doffcocker Village is ready to be unveiled and Alan's hard work will finally be seen by a wider public.

It was purely by chance that Alan found out about the model which was languishing in a store belonging to Bolton Museum and Art Gallery.

It is thought the model had not been seen for at least 50 years and museum staff really did not know what to do with it, or who might like to have it.

Alan, aged 76, tracked it down when he was researching his latest book — he is a keen author of local history books — after discovering information about it from Halliwell Local History Society (a society he is a member of).

"I was looking at a book written by Derek Billington and at the end of the book Derek mentions a model of Doffcocker Village commissioned by Bolton Museum," explains Alan.

David Mason, who is chairman of the Halliwell Local History Society said he recalled seeing the model in Little Bolton Museum many years ago but where it went after that remained a mystery.

That was until Alan got on the case as he managed to track it down in museum storage and he was given permission to take it for the society.

What began then was a labour of love to restore this magnificent model as it would have been at the period of time it was modelled on — the turn of the 19th century.

The model was dilapidated, dismal and in need of repair — and Alan was determined it would be returned to its formal glory.

So this former motor dealer — he had no previous experience of model making other than creating tiny landscapes for bonsai trees to stand in, through his involvement with a bonsai society — made contact with the Hobby and Model Centre in Hulton Lane, Bolton and bought (among other things) trees, shrubs and figures to help re-create the miniature village.

It was a painstakingly delicate job but one which Alan threw himself into. Alan, who is married to Bernice, took over the dining room of the couple's Ladybridge home. "It's called the model room now," he quips.

He re-created, in miniature, the streets which made up Doffcocker Village including Peggy Lane, Doffcocker Fold, Grundy Row, Crofters Row and Picton Street. None of these still exist but they were once home to dozens of mill workers — many of whom worked in the Picton Street mill which was called Heaton's Mill.

The houses were originally built, explains Alan, for workers in the outdoor bleach trade but then were used by cotton mill workers.

"It was a little self-contained village as there was nothing else around," says Alan, who adds that it boasted its own shop and some of the workers would sell produce grown in their gardens.

Alan had to use historical information in his work ensuring the items he placed in the village would have been there in the late 18th and early 19th century.

It is a fascinating walk around a village that is long gone but for some Bolton folk will be part of their history. No doubt there are Looking Back readers whose ancestors lived in Doffcocker Village and we would love to hear from them.

Alan is hopeful the completed project will soon be on view at the All Souls Church in Bolton where local people will be able to view it and enjoy Alan's fine handiwork.

Much of the historical information Alan has used in his recreation came from the archives of the Halliwell Local History Society which contains a wealth of valuable information.

The model village is now a vibrant display that gives a glimpse of life in this remarkable little place which was just round the corner from the Doffcocker Inn.

By all accounts it would have been a busy place with mums heading for the mill to work along with their husbands and the children heading out of Doffcocker Village for school — the village did not contain a school but there would be various schools nearby.

The Bolton Evening News featured a story about the model village which was on display at Bolton Museum.

It states that the model was based on the village in 1792 and that Heaton's Mill — which was in Picton Street — was the first to be supplied with mules by Isaac Dobson.

The model village formed part of an exhibition exploring the industrial history of Bolton with models, drawings and photographs.

There are records of the model being a "new model" in 1956 and that it was made by Bolton Museum staff although Alan believes it could have been made in the 1940s.

"It was a charming little village and people came from all around to look at it just as they did with Barrow Bridge," says Alan.