August 2012
Spitfire Cottage dolls house presented an interesting and challenging project for Conservation Technician, Alice Forkes during the Bridewell Museum re-display project.
Spitfire cottage after conservation
The cottage was constructed in the early 1940’s by two craft teachers from what is now Blyth-Jex school in Norwich. Whilst they were busy fire watching, they decided to raise money for the war effort and chose to build a house of the thirties to scale 1 inch to 1 foot. It took them a year to make, had electricity and running water and the resourceful pair chose to make everything from scraps of different materials they had lying around. By charging staff and pupils to view it, £40 was raised towards the cost of a new Spitfire airplane and they received a letter of appreciation from the Ministry of Aircraft Production.
Before conservation work started, a thorough examination was undertaken and work plan devised. As it was such a complex object with many components, recording its current condition and layout was essential. It was similar to carrying out a structural survey on a building! Structural issues were identified and internal fittings assessed.
Treatment included strengthening of weak and previously badly repaired wooden rafters, side panels and joists.
Contents of the kitchen
The dolls house is filled with the normal fixtures, fittings and furnishings of an actual house, for example curtains, carpets, wall paper, furniture, bed linen, ornaments, pictures, plumbing and lighting! So although repairs were carried out on a miniature scale, similar problems one would encounter in one’s own house presented themselves in Spitfire Cottage. Peeling wallpaper, damaged skirting, detached downpipes, broken furniture etc all needed attention. But whilst one may take the opportunity to do a DIY SOS in one’s own home, much care was taken to reinstate the house as it was originally intended to be viewed in the 1940’s.
The house also has a doll that required treatment including cleaning and repair of her costume. Again, comparable conservation techniques used on life size costume were employed. But due to the small scale, a magnifying lens, tiny curved needle and fine silk thread were needed to execute the extremely detailed work.
Lady of the House
Repairing the dress of lady of the house, by Alice Forkes, Conservation Technician
When all conservation work was completed, all the internal objects were ready to be placed into their positions. The curator viewed and agreed the final layout for display. Spitfire Cottage now takes pride of place in the “Living In Norwich” gallery at the newly opened Bridewell Museum, Norwich.
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