Banburyshire village invites you to experience childhood across the centuries

Hornton History Group is counting down to another spectacular event - bringing 2,000 years of history to life through the eyes of a child, with plenty of ways for children of any age to get involved.

There was widespread acclaim for their First World War exhibition in 2014 with its full-size model of a trench, complete with smoke and a dead rat – and they followed that up with The Way We Were in 2017.

But now Hornton History Group is gearing up for A Child Through Time - taking visitors from the Romans to now, seeing the history of the village through a child’s eyes.

It has been 18 months in the making and takes place on September 10 and 11 at Hornton Pavilion, open from 10am to 6pm on both days, with free entry.

There will be colourful storyboards, interactive displays and activities, compiled by Laurie Stewart-Furneaux and Lorna Abbott, with the support of Hornton History Group members.

They have amassed a huge amount of information to make it a memorable event.

Pupils at the village school have been filmed giving their impressions of their lives and historical events through the ages. In addition, there is a chance for children to dress up like an Anglo-Saxon, view a model Roman villa, engage in different senses, make their own Bayeux Tapestry scenes, learn about calligraphy with a quill pen like a medieval monk, try their hand at archery, hear some old English and take part in games from different periods.

The storyboards and displays are about Hornton but will be of interest to an audience from further afield, giving people the chance to learn about life at key periods of the past 2,000 years.

Laurie told the Banbury Guardian: “We really wanted to appeal to families with this one, telling the history of the village through the eyes of a child.

"Where events have had an effect on the country and village we have taken a character. We have Marcus, a Roman slave who will show what it was like to be in Roman Britain.

"We also say how we know these stories – we have the evidence of the Roman finds in Hornton.”

Other periods are brought to life and outside the pavilion will be various activities to try. There will also be a barbecue over the lunchtime period and refreshments.