A dolls’ house once owned by children’s author Beatrix Potter has gone back on display in the Lake District.
The house and its contents, given conservation treatment by National Trust experts, inspired the illustrations in the author’s book The Tale of Two Bad Mice.
A team of conservators worked on the dolls’ house and the 73 miniature objects inside it.
Experts at the trust’s Textile Conservation Studio in Norfolk worked on a carpet, upholstered furniture, and dolls’ clothes while other trust conservators at the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio in Kent tackled pieces of wooden furniture, ceramic and glass items and paper including wallpaper, watercolours and drawings.
The conservation of the dolls’ house will feature in the upcoming series of Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, which will be broadcast on BBC2 and available on iPlayer in the spring.
Now back at Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s farm near Hawkshead, it is the central feature of a new display all about the tale it inspired.
The New Room, added in an extension to the farm by Beatrix Potter, is being used for the new display with state-of-the-art lighting and an interactive display case allowing visitors to spotlight Beatrix’s treasured items given to her by her publisher Norman Warne for inspiration.
The items which appear as illustrations in the tale include cutlery, a saucepan, bellows, birdcage, coal scuttle, and the food that Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb try to steal – but discover it is glued to the plates.
Beatrix Potter wrote about this food, saying: “The things will do beautifully; the ham’s appearance is enough to cause indigestion.”
Later, Norman sent a marriage proposal, which Beatrix accepted but he died before they could marry, and the miniature items held huge significance.
In the 1930s, Beatrix bought the house for her tiny treasures, so that they could be played with by children.
Now fully conserved, with the dolls’ house repaired and the objects cleaned and prepared for show once more, it is the centrepiece in the new room.
The new lighting includes a console which visitors can control themselves to light up individual parts of the house.
Animations of Beatrix’s beloved mice will also be shown and there’s even a dolls’ house replica for children to play with.
Hill Top property curator Katy Canales said: “The dolls’ house contents are really important because they feature so strongly in one of Beatrix’s best loved tales but also because of the significance to her life and her relationship with Norman Warne.
“It is always one of the more popular items with our visitors but now the conservators have done a wonderful job to bring it back up to such a high standard it is good to have it as the centrepiece of our new display.
“Beatrix acquired this dolls’ house in her 70s and welcomed the children in her life to play with it. Now, in that same spirit, visitors can spotlight items in the house and discover the stories behind them. Our new display continues her legacy and invites everyone to be playful.”
It took around 300 hours of work to conserve the dolls’ house and 73 of the items it contains.
The house needed work to stabilise part of the decorative roof edge as well as filling cracks and previous screw holes.
Torn wallpaper was repaired, and areas of lifting vinyl floors were tackled along with carpet repairs. Many of the objects in the house needed work to stabilise and prevent further deterioration as well as reattaching broken or loose pieces before detailed cleaning.
Silk cushion covers on the furniture were repaired and dry cleaned using micro-vacuum cleaners.
Other items on display alongside the house include a never-before-seen letter. Newly acquired, the handwritten letter from Beatrix Potter to a young American boy contains a description and illustration of her pet mouse Hunca Munca resting on her finger.
Katy added: “This is one of hundreds of letters that Beatrix wrote to children across the world to support their love of reading and share her love of animals and storytelling. It features the escapades of her beloved pets Mrs Tiggy and Hunca Munca, who would go on to inspire her future tales.”
Also in Hill Top’s New Room is a new display Two Bad Mice: Pets to Page, which mixes original objects from across the Beatrix Potter collection, projected animations, interactive displays and a newly commissioned film exploring the behind-the-scenes work done to care for the dolls’ house and its contents. It examines the process of how Beatrix created the layers of narrative and make-believe in the story, her relationship with Norman Warne and its significance to her both professionally and personally.
The New Room’s walls are enlivened with projected animations of Beatrix Potter’s illustrations and visitors will need watch their step as the floor features the images of Beatrix’s Old Brown, Tom Kitten, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs Tittlemouse. The exhibition opens tomorrow, February 15, and runs until November 2026.
