ON CHRISTMAS Eve 1895 the Hall family’s son was just days old.

The boy was born in Swindon’s Railway Village – in the cottage that now houses the historic area’s museum.

This weekend, volunteers are giving history-buffs a taste of the baby’s first Christmas.

The house, now managed by the Mechanics Institution Trust, has been given a Christmas make-over - transporting the Faringdon Road cottage back to Christmas Eve 1895.

In the front parlour is a real Christmas tree, decorated with the paper ornaments that would be been familiar to Victorians on a budget.

Upstairs, Christmas stockings hang from the children’s beds – waiting to be filled with presents.

Daniel Rose, director of the trust, said that the two-day event was “all about trying to show people what a traditional working class Victorian Christmas was all about”.

He added: “A lot of the Christmases we see today of the Victorian period are very upper class, from the country houses. So, this is a chance to see what it would have been like for everyday working people.

“A lot of research has been done by our volunteers to make sure everything’s as accurate as possible, in terms of the kinds of decorations they would have had.

“The Halls would have had quite a simple Christmas. They wouldn’t have had a huge number of gifts. It would have been a small family affair.

“But there would have been lots of activities going on at the Mechanics Institution – lots of dances and lots of theatrical performances.

“So, there would have been lots going on in the community, but the Christmas at home would have been quite simple.”

Volunteers from the trust baked mince pies and laid on mulled wine for the free event.

“’I’m not sure if in the Victorian period they would have catered for gluten-free and vegan mince pies,” Daniel joked.

A Victorian Christmas is at the Railway Museum, 34 Faringdon Road, on Saturday and Sunday, 10am-3pm.

For more, visit: www.facebook.com/mechanicstrust.