On Friday, my friend Jenny and I headed down the A1 to Nostell Priory near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Owned by the National Trust, Nostell Priory has been home to the Nostell Dolls' House - one of England's oldest and best preserved dolls' houses - for almost 300 years.
Why the Surprise?
Well, what we hadn't anticipated about our visit was just how well-timed it was, because it turns out that there has recently been a significant investment of time and money into the sensitive conservation, restoration and improved presentation of the Nostell Dolls' House.
This is refreshingly at odds with what we've seen in so many other stately homes and museums, where it seems less and less importance is being placed on dolls' houses as items of historical interest, and in some museums they have, sadly, been removed from display altogether and placed in storage.
So, when we arrived at the ticket desk and found that not only was there a guidebook for the full-size house, but there was also a separate one - written only last year - for the dolls' house, our anticipation grew.
It was soon clear from a quick glance through the very well-written and informative guide, that we were in for a treat, and we couldn't wait to see the newly restored house.
And hats off to the Nostell National Trust team, because we weren't disappointed!
We found the dolls' house situated in its own room in a prominent position on the ground floor of the big house. It is displayed with an open front - as all fabulous dolls' houses on public display should be but sadly aren't! - and positioned directly behind glass so that we were able to get close up to it and see into the rooms properly.
What a size it is! Apparently it stands five and a half foot tall, without its stand, and it is easily just as wide.
Lighting is always problematic when delicate antiques are displayed, but I though the balance between keeping the room dim enough to keep the dolls' house safe, and providing enough light for good viewing, had been well-struck.
The newly cleaned drapery looks almost new, but it is all original.
In addition to the rooms I've shown here, there is also a dining room and a dressing room each for the Yellow, and Red Velvet bedrooms - unfortunately, I couldn't get any decent photos of them because of reflections in the glass.
And there was more!
In addition to the main attraction itself, I was also impressed by a well put-together and interesting video which is screening in the dolls' house room, with seating provided so that you can watch it sitting down (several times, as it happened..!)
We used the same seating to sit and gaze longing and lovingly at the dolls' house in between the arrival and departure of numerous other visitors too!
And just when we'd torn ourselves away from the dolls' house and were off to see the rest of the big house, the next room surprised us with a second video giving even more interesting information about the dolls' house, as well as some more general information about the role of dolls' houses historically.
What more could we ask for? Well, a lovely cup of coffee and some cake in the sunny courtyard after our tour, as it happened!
Until next time,
Zoe
P.S. I almost forgot....the big house was very interesting too! The ambitious plans (drawn up by Adams) for a huge new addition to the earlier house, were never completed due to a family tragedy. However, the house is still very impressive, with beautiful ceilings and other architectural features by Adams, rare Chippendale furniture, sumptuous drapery and some excellent paintings. We didn't get a chance to look around the grounds on this visit, but we'll definitely be back at some point and hopefully we'll get to see those then too.
[All photos copyright Zoe Handy, September 2021.]
