Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017

BITS AND BOBS
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It’s been a fascinating example of how we’ve
inherited a family history and it illustrates the
different attitudes to childhood at different times.
We’ve got a ‘baby house’ that was built not as a
toy but as a novelty for adults, and has been passed
through the daughters of the family. Different
people have added to it, children have started to
play with it, some things have been lost and others
have been added over the course of 280 years.
The house is architecturally very accurate for
the time and the quality of the carpentry and
joinery is quite exceptional. The doors connecting
the rooms are panelled and have working handles
and lock mechanisms. The kitchen is particularly
interesting from a social history point of view
because all the fitments in it appear to be original.
They include some quite unusual features,
particularly a large shelf hung from the ceiling,
which was a way of storing bacon and cheese away
from rats. All the original fireplaces and grates were
made to measure and appear to have been made
with the same techniques you would use to make
the full-size objects.
Because it is going on display in the Royal
Pavilion, we thought it would be a great
opportunity to bring out some dolls house
furniture that we have in our collection which has
been made in the chinoiserie style. Although they
don’t replicate the Pavilion furniture, they are very
much in the style of the Royal Pavilion, and we
thought it would be fun to put those in. We’ll be
recreating our own miniature regency banquet in
one of the rooms.
As told to Lizzie Lower by Joy Whittam, Collections
Assistant in Museum Lab at Brighton Museum and
Art Gallery
The Scadbury Manor dolls house will be displayed as
part of Christmas at the Royal Pavilion until the 2nd
of January 2018. For tickets call 03000 290902 or visit
brightonmuseums.org.uk
Photos taken at The Royal Pavilion, Brighton. Thanks to the Royal Pavilion & Museums Brighton & Hove
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