Who knew Ealing had a dolls house museum? Not me, even though I’ve lived in the area for approaching six years. I found out about it via a blog post and decided to pop over this Saturday.
Located on Haven Green, just across from Ealing Broadway station, the museum is well signposted – you can’t miss the building with the bright yellow sign outside. Entry is £1 and while the museum is contained within just one room, a great deal is packed into it.
Immediately on the right as you enter are four dolls houses decorated for the seasons. If only it was possible to decorate real houses like that! This side also had examples of older and modern dolls, and I even spied a doll version of Jim from the Royle Family.
The most interesting bits for me were the dolls from different countries. I can’t pretend to be able to identify them all and I do wish there had been more detailed labels. I particularly liked the Japanese dolls that came with their own story from traditional folklore.
At the back I found more assorted dolls (maybe the Doll Museum would be be a more appropriate name than the Dolls House Museum). There were some china dolls very similar to ones I had as a child. I had one in particular called Georgina that I loved. She had long ringlets and a pink satin dress. I don’t know what happened to her. I suspect my parents threw her out, along with my other china doll with plaits and a floral dress – my mam always did find them a bit creepy (I don’t know why I didn’t, to be honest).
At the other side of the room were selections of doll house miniatures, which I loved. I just love really tiny things.The picture frames especially were adorable. To finish off there were some ornaments and other doll house miniatures, while in the centre of the room there was another doll house to admire.
This museum is pretty interesting if you like that sort of thing. It’s small, and I don’t know if it would be worth making a special visit to Ealing for, but if you’re in the area it’s certainly worth half an hour of your time.
FACTS
Address: 12 Haven Green, London, W5 2UU
Opening Hours: Saturday 10am-2pm
Prices: £1