An exquisite miniature replica of a French town house has joined one of the world's finest collections of dollhouses and miniatures at Newby Hall & Gardens near Ripon.
Gifted by the family of the renowned miniaturist Caroline Hamilton, the dollshouse joins Newby’s collection of more than 70 houses of all sizes, styles and ages.
Painstakingly built up over 40 years, the collection was gifted to Newby eleven years ago by Caroline and her friend, and fellow model maker, Jane Fiddick.
Caroline couldn’t bear to be parted from her favourite miniature, Versailles, but it was her wish that it join the rest of the collection on permanent display at Newby after her death.
Miniature dollhouses are intricate, scaled-down homes and considerable skill and artistry is involved in making historically accurate pieces.
Versailles was a deeply personal house to Caroline.
Built by her early proteges, master miniaturists Kevin Mulvany and Susan Rogers, it is based on photographs of the house in Versailles in which Caroline’s parents had an apartment in the 1950s.
Constructed with astonishing attention to detail, it features a ‘marble’ hall painted by artist Elie Yannas, and panelling created by Robert Dawson of the Model Room that is a replica of that in the French room at the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Its carpet was stitched by Shamal Carpets from designs in the Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor in Berkshire and the parquet floor was individually laid.
On the wall is a copy by Judith Drury of a Fragonard painting which was painted with just two hairs on a sable brush and took three months to complete.
More prosaic furnishing solutions, typical of Caroline’s pragmatic, DIY approach, include bed hangings made from an old hankie over a jam-pot lid corona and candelabra lamps fashioned from figurines with their tambourines snipped off and etched brass foliage.
Caroline co-founded and ran the renowned London Dollshouse Festival for 20 years.
Jane and Caroline’s dollshouse creations have been exhibited as far away as Japan, before finding their permanent home at Newby Hall.
Newby’s dollshouse collection includes some antique toy dollshouses but the majority of the exhibits are historically accurate, miniature houses ranging from small ‘room boxes’ such as Grandmama’s Parlour to the grand Beagle House and Best House.
There are Victorian style shops, rustic family homes, architectural classics and even a yuppie bachelor pad. Each tiny room is shown in considerable detail and peopled by characters with real life stories illustrating the age in which they ‘lived’.
The Versailles dollshouse was presented to Newby Hall by Caroline’s children, Alexander, Stephanie and Dominic.
Alexander Hamilton said:
"We are delighted that our mother's favourite house will soon be available on public view at Newby.
"She took great pride in her dollhouses, and this - the “one that got away” as she referred to it in the book that accompanies the exhibition - is one of the finest.
"As her favourite, she held it back but ultimately wished for it to join the existing collection at Newby, and we know she would be very pleased.
"Newby’s collection of our mother’s and Jane’s dollshouses is a wonderful showcase for their talents and passion, and we know visitors will enjoy them and find inspiration in their work."
Newby Hall is the family home of Richard and Lucinda Compton.
Lucinda, who is also Newby’s conservator and curator, said:
“We are deeply honoured to welcome this magnificent miniature to complete our impressive display of dollshouses here at Newby Hall.
"The collection has proved very popular and it is fitting that Caroline’s favourite house will be displayed in pride of place and continue to give pleasure to our visitors.”
The dollshouse collection is on permanent public display at Newby Hall from April-September each year. Situated in the heart of Newby Hall’s award-winning 25-acre garden, the exhibition is free to visit with a garden admission ticket.
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