Toy museum is a wonderland
Last updated 11:36, Monday, 12 May 2008
A CUMBRIAN woman has opened a new toy museum in Carlisle – and every exhibit has a story to tell.
Partly hidden down a lane in the city centre it is every girl’s dream – a room filled with 2,000 dolls and teddies of all shapes and sizes.
Margaret Alice Blackwell, of Skelton, opened Alice’s Wonderland in Long Lane, between Castle Street and Fisher Street, last month.
She remembers where each toy came from, who gave it to her and why.
The earliest exhibit is a bride doll dating back to 1790. There are also 24 dolls houses on display, one of which belonged to the Queen Mother’s cousin.
One doll sitting on a small chair came from a girl whose father brought it back for her after World War Two.
Margaret said: “He was involved in the D-Day landings and was taken in by a French family, during which time he never forgot his own daughter, who was left behind at home.
“They gave him this doll, which he then gave to his daughter, who gave it to me. It’s now 160 years old.”
Margaret started collecting when she was five after spotting a tiny black wooden pig in a shop window. “I begged my mother to buy me it. I just love tiny things – they’re beautifully made and I love the attention to detail,” she said.
The vast collection contains wax dolls popular in the 1880s and a Little Red Riding Hood which when turned upside down reveals the wolf.
The exhibition opens every day except Wednesday costing £2.50 adults, £1 children and £5 for families.
