Miniature Christmas nativity built by Harrogate woman with 500 tiny figurines in ancient Italian tradition

Now the sacred custom so popular in Europe has taken shape in Harrogate with a townscape handcrafted for everyone to enjoy.

The wider Presepe tradition is said to have come from the time of St Francis of Assisi, although his nativity scene was created with real people rather than replicas.

Ms Burdon's Il Presepe, featuring 500 figurines, has taken two months to build at St Robert’s Church. There is running water, a mechanical shoemaker, a baker with tiny baguettes, even a cat and carved mushrooms.

It's the ancient town of Bethlehem, in marvellous miniature, drawing the eyes of children fascinated by tiny delights to be found.

To Ms Burdon and her sisters, it's a joy to see their own family tradition bring such pleasure to others. In Italy, there are such scenes in almost every home.

"I came to it as a child, we always did it at home," said the bookkeeper. "I'm the seventh of eight children, and my mum used to sit down with us and make it every year. We used what we had in the house, recycled bits or papier-mâché or clay. It stayed with me, that."

For more than a decade since moving to Harrogate Ms Burdon has recreated Il Presepe, getting bigger each year and now on display at St Robert's Church.

Through December the nativity takes shape, with the crib at the centre featuring Mary and Joseph, and with the baby Jesus added on Christmas Eve.

"It's all about the waiting," said Ms Burdon. "I was always fighting with my brothers over who could put the baby in.

"You don't have to be Christian to enjoy it," she added. "I just want to give the chance for everyone to see it. The children just love it, they do see something different every time."

There are some 500 figures in Ms Burdon's Il Presepe. Some are just 1cm tall, others 20cm. Some are plaster, or plastic, or porcelain, with the three wise men handcrafted by a parishioner from modelling clay. Her sisters send many more, shipped from San Gregorio. Every year she makes a new one, trying to use recycled pieces.

"I do enjoy it,” she said. “It's all the little details that catch people's interest. People say to me 'oh my grandchildren would love that'. But it’s not just children – I can see the joy it adds. That's the real beauty of it.”

In Naples Il Presepe is a must in every house in the Christmas season, with the tradition of representing Bethlehem popular across Italy.

"When it started it was just a simple project, a nostalgic centrepiece, that went up in the living room," said Ms Burdon. "The main point was to share with my family what it meant to live the Christmas story. To this day I hope that sentiment is shared."