Nunnington Hall in Yorkshire, as it stands now, is the creation of the Viscount Preston, who was the owner in the late 17th Century, but there has been a house there since the thirteenth century.
There are plenty of rooms – the stone hall, dining room, the oak hall, the drawing room and bedrooms, mainly recreated to represent 17th and 18th century décor with paintings, panelling and stone fire places.
But there is more to see than these rooms. Since 1981 Nunnington has housed a special collection of rooms – miniature rooms. The collection was created by Mrs Carlisle (known fondly as Kitty) and began with a few pieces of Indian miniature silver in her house in London. Over forty years from 1921, she continued to collect periods rooms and their contents. A keen embroider, she made her own carpets and upholstery, and commissioned skilled craftsmen to construct rooms with furnishings and fittings.
Regency room
We think of dollshouses (dollhouse in the USA) as a child’s toy, but for centuries they were an adult hobby and the custom of re-creating houses or rooms goes back centuries, in fact thousands of years to Egyptian times – wooden models were found in the tombs of the Old Kingdom.
Bestselling book that the BBC made into a series.
In 16th century Europe, dollshouses were known as baby houses and displayed in a cabinet made up of individual rooms. They were solely for adults and prized collections.
‘Baby’ house
These early dollshouses were custom made to individual specifications. However, by the time of the Industrial Revolution they were being mass produced. German companies were renown for making them, as were the English, and by 19th century the Americans were on board and continued to rise in popularity after German production declined following WW1.
By the 1950s houses were made from metal and plastic, rather than wood, and they shifted from adult collectors to children, especially girls.
Queen Mary’s Dollhouse with electricity
My eight room dollshouse complete with staircase and all round viewing 🙂
These days dollhouse collectors are serious hobbyists, not only buying the house and furnishing it, they focussed on themes, eras, decorations and even added electricity and lighting. One of the most famous dollhouses is on display in Windsor Castle – Queen Mary’s dollhouse – which was made in 1924 by Edwin Lutyens, a famous architect.
The Dolls House Emporium catalogue (one of the UK biggest providers) is addictive – pages and pages of objects and houses to buy. By the time I’ve finished perusing it, I’m itching to have a go myself.
We don’t have a fancy dollshouse. The one my kids play with dates back to the 1960s and was custom made for me when I was a child. So it something special. I covered it with garish seventies wallpaper (now stripped off), and metal kitchen cabinets and hand stitched upholstered chairs. Now, all sadly lost. So, I went to the ‘junior’ section of the Emporium catalogue and bought new things for it, specifically choosing wood, rather than plastic. Not quite as grand as the old dollshouses, I am at least continuing the custom of collecting miniature rooms.
“Beautifully written mystery weaves a spell around the house and the people connected to it.” Goodreads reviewer
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The Quiet Writer 
This is great interest to me as my father was considered one of the foremost miniaturists. He specialised in Louis XV pieces. Although British, most of his pieces reside in The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, Missouri. If you are interested there are pictures of some of his pieces at
https://www.edeandravenscroft.com/about-us/in-pursuit-of-excellence/
Just scroll down the page and there they are!
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How did they end up in Missouri? I’m glad you found the post interesting. It’s nice to find out about things that people can relate to.
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The collection has been in various parts of the US for a nnumber of years due to the interest shown in it having been featured in many magzines and books on the subject.. It will be returned to the Wallace Collection in London before too longi
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I have my old dollhouse that my grandfather made me in the 1950. The furniture is lost. I keep planning to fix it up again. Maybe after A to Z.
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I regret losing my furniture. It seemed dated, but now I wish I’d kept hold of the pieces. It’s great fun finding new things to put in the dollshouse.
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Having a LEGO city of my own, I can totally relate to the world of miniatures and dollshouses. My LEGO buildings tend to have quite detailed interiors and exteriors. I have been enjoying your posts this month, and here’s a Liebster award to show my appreciation!
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Lego is the ultimate miniaturist creation! I think dollshouses are a forerunner.
Thank you for the award – and for stopping by.
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Thank you for this interesting history of doll houses. I had no idea they were taken so seriously by adults. I’ve. never had one, myself. I once saw some beautiful doll houses at a place called “House on the Rock,” in Wisconsin, USA.
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Perhaps a little too seriously, given the costs of building some of the larger houses. I prefer our kids one.
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Very interesting description of miniature houses, and the hobby over the ages. One of my colleagues collects miniatures and I’ve learnt how to make miniature books 🙂 Liked knowing about the Dolls House Emporium.
Would love it if you could check out my #AtoZChallenge submission for letter N:
https://lonelycanopyblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/15/nothing-like-school-memories/
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The emporium’s catalogue is rather addictive. Lots of ideas! Your friend might like it too.
Thanks for stopping by.
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I had a dear friend who loved miniatures, and collected Christmas miniatures. Her mother made them and was known for the incredibly small, true to scale, beautiful candies she made for them. I miss examining them and discovering new details each time.
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