Cherry Hill

Cherry Hill MBE (1937-2024) is a world-renowned model engineer famed for her remarkable models of historic machines, from traction engines to locomotives.

Born in Malvern, Worcestershire, in 1932, Cherry learnt her craft at her father's workshop and later joined the family hop-picking machinery business, McConnell-Hinds, as a designer. She was also an inventor, patenting the Crypton Synchro Check, a carburettor balancing device.

Starting in 1956, she created models of both working engines and designs that never reached the prototype stage. Each project involved meticulous research using original materials and contemporary sources, as well as creative ingenuity to overcome gaps in the available information.

Each of Cherry's models were created using thousands of components fabricated from solid metal, ranging from nameplates to tiny nuts and bolts. Significantly, each model was constructed to work, prior to being carefully painted. The amount of hours dedicated to every finished product ranged from c. 2,500 to c. 9,000.

Cherry received multiple awards including the Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy and the Championship Cup. In 2004 she was elected Companion Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Eleven models were originally donated by Cherry Hill to the Institution in 2001 and 2002. Additional models were added to the collection in September 2004 and October 2007. Learn more about each of these by watching the video and browsing through the collection to see 3D perspectives.