IT is a huge sculpture showing one of Hampshire's most historic cities as it was in Victorian times.

But a 25-year effort to find a home for this detailed model of Winchester is now a “lost cause,” according to its creator.

Roger Brown's 15-foot replica of the city as it was in 1870 has never been permanently displayed despite dating back to the 1980s.

It is on show in the city's Great Hall this month but will then return to a disused Hampshire County Council office away from public view.

Mr Brown said: “We've been talking about this now for 25 years and nobody's come up with a sensible solution. You can't spend the rest of your life chasing after a lost cause.

“I jokingly said once 'why don't we have a fire by the Buttercross and celebrate by burning a piece?”

Efforts to find it a home in Winchester Guildhall, North Walls and the North Transept of Winchester Cathedral have all fallen through.

Mr Brown kept the huge model in his garage until last year, when he handed it over to the county council.

The former county planning officer, now aged 90, has passed the baton to friends including Peter Liddiard, who is calling on Winchester City Council to take the model.

“I'm starting a campaign,” Mr Liddiard said. “It ought to be the responsibility of the city rather than the county.”

The model has been the centrepiece of popular exhibitions in the Great Hall and Winchester Science Centre but has never been permanently displayed due to its size and need for constant supervision.

“Every time we take it apart and put it back together again it deteriorates a little bit. It's quite a labour of love,” Mr Liddiard said.

The model is on show in Winchester's Great Hall until November 15.