LOCATIONS

Tuctonia

The following information was kindly provided by Mike Fisher of Skegness who was Company Secretary and Assistant Manager of Tuctonia where the special effects sequences for Queen Kong were filmed:

Tuctonia, the ‘model village’ where the special effects shots for Queen Kong were filmed, was a popular tourist attraction in the village of Tucton, near Christchurch in Hampshire. It was owned by Grand Metropolitan Hotels, a company established in 1975 by Harry Stiller who also ran a Formula 3 motor-racing team.

At its height, Tuctonia was the biggest tourist attraction in that part of Britain, attracting a million visitors a year. Eighty staff were employed at Tuctonia which was open from the week before Easter through to the end of October, and from Boxing Day to New Year. During the winter it was closed for repairs and the construction of new model buildings, which were made by Peter Kellard Ltd of Bournemouth. The Managing Director of Tuctonia was Ken James, who was last heard of running a pub in Devon or Cornwall.

Sadly visitor numbers declined after 1980. With videos and home computers to entertain them, children were less interested in seeing scale models of famous buildings. The introduction of a miniature railway* failed to halt the decline and some time around 1984 the attraction closed down for good.

Where Tuctonia once stood is now a housing estate. Only the footage in Queen Kong remains to commemorate a popular tourist attraction from a simpler, gentler era.

Did you ever visit Tuctonia? Did you work there? Do you have any photos or postcards? If so, please contact me.

* The miniature railway was relocated and became the Moors Valley Railway near St. Ives which still operates to this day.