July 31, 2017
Ever since I was a little girl, I’d always been fascinated by china dolls. I remember my aunt having at least two displayed in each room in her house, and I loved looking at them, even sometimes wished she would notice the glow in my eyes while gazing at them and gift me one for the keeping. Unfortunately, they were all buried under rubble and cinder during the 2006 war.
My love for those dolls only grew bigger. I tried looking for china dolls in Lebanon, but they were almost non existent, not even in antique shops. So naturally, the first thing I do when I come to London is put a list of museums I want to visit, and I was on cloud nine when I came across Pollock’s Toy Museum, thanks to trusty Google!
The museum is located on 1 Scala Street, next to Goodge Street Station.
Once you walk there, it’s hard to miss it. It has the looks of a cute little vintage toy shop one can spot in movies with its colors and design. But upon receiving a small guide and roaming around the place, we kept discovering rooms – going up and down stairs – and learned that the museum is actually based in two attached houses, one built in the 1880’s and one built in the 1780’s.
The first thing you see when you walk through the front door is a big collection of paper theaters and souvenirs beautifully placed behind the reception desk where you can buy your tickets, which cost a humble £6 per adult.
The museum holds quite a lot of dolls and ornaments; from china dolls, to rocking horses, clocks, paper theaters, wax dolls, stuffed toys, teddy bears, puzzles, doll houses, electric trains, and board games. It’s all displayed there. What I loved was the variety of the country of origin – English, German, Mexican, Central and South American, and many more – all dating between 1800’s and 1900’s.
The wooden floors, creaky stairs, and lattice windows all add up to the atmosphere. And right when you think you’re done and on your way out, you find another wooden door waiting for you to turn the knob and explore what’s behind it.
What I love about it is that it’s quiet. The atmosphere is a sort of blend between The Woman in Black’s first scene and Annabelle calmly placed in a rocking chair. I wouldn’t even recommend this museum for children. The dolls and toys are mostly placed behind glass, some a bit dusty and some with broken faces.
Ahmed was not too happy about that
One of the rooms located behind glass is filled with dolls and toys. I wished I could just walk through the glass and sit amongst them!
I was honestly waiting for them to shift their looks or move! Ahmed was just too crept out, and though he was extremely fascinated, he almost shed a tear of joy when we finally reached the last stop in the museum which was their little souvenir shop.
Of course, I couldn’t leave without buying anything from the store, and although I was hoping I could find a little china doll or at least a severed creepy doll head, I couldn’t. But I ended up getting a couple of cute things.
A 1000-piece-puzzle, a mini flower press, and a couple of postcards
Anyone who is in London and likes exploring places that aren’t your every-day-museum, do go to Pollock’s Toy Museum. I personally truly loved it!
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