Brighton Toy And Model Museum
Encyclopedia
The Brighton Toy and Model Museum (sometimes referred to as Brighton Toy Museum) is one of the world's finest toy museum
s, located in Brighton
, East Sussex
. Its collection of toys and models extends over four thousand square feet of floorspace, through four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station
. Founded in 1991, it has over ten thousand toys and models in its catalogue, including priceless model train collections, radio control aircraft, and many period antique toys.
Its display area includes two large operational model railway layouts (in 0- and 00-gauge), and displays of period pieces from a range of classic manufacturers that includes Bing
, Dinky, Hornby Trains, Märklin
, Meccano
, Pelham Puppets
, and Steiff. The museum also includes individually engineered pieces such as the working quarter-scale traction engine and the Spitfire fighter planes in the lobby, and a range of other working scale models throughout the museum.
Previously known as the Sussex Toy And Model Museum, it is located in Trafalgar Street, Brighton
under four of the arches supporting Brighton railway station. Entrance to the first arch of the museum, containing the foyer/shop area and the Brighton visitor information point, is free. The museum is a registered charity (no. 1001560).
It also contains the "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition, which includes Brighton Belle
models and collectables and a set of other Brighton-related models and displays, including a model of the Brighton Pavilion, and models of cars from Magnus Volk
's electric
and seashore electric
railways.
Other items in the foyer include a quarter-scale coal-fired traction engine
, a large motorised Meccano
Ferris wheel
, and an overhead quarter-scale Spitfire radio-controlled model airplane. In addition, a working cast iron coin-operated end-of-the-pier metal label-stamping machine allows visitors to produce an authentic metal tag containing up to 19 letters.
The first arch also contains offices and maintenance and restoration workshops that are not open to the public.
theatre, puppets, Meccano
and other construction toys, building construction sets, model ships, radio controlled model aircraft (including a large helicopter), and farm, circus and ship toy sets. It also includes military dioramas, display collections of model cars including Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys, and marionnettes.
Exhibition displays draw on outside guest collections, and on varying selections taken from the Museum's core collection of over ten thousand items.
The museum began to experience leaks in May 1998 and by November of the same year it was forced to close due to flooding. http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2001/10/5/170626.html The flooding was caused by Railtrack
contractors who interfered with a Victorian
drainage system in the process of re-surfacing the railway station forecourt and taxi area.http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2001/10/5/170626.html At the time of its closure the museum was the only toy museum in England.
The museum was closed for three years while negotiations with Railtrack and Railtrack's property management division, Espacia, took place. Railtrack ultimately agreed to spend £130,000 on repair works to waterproof the museum and a further undisclosed sum as compensation to the museum's trustees, and the museum reopened on 12 October 2001.
In November 2004 HRH Duke of Gloucester
visited the museum and unveiled a commemorative plaque.
In November 2005 the museum was awarded £1,594.70 of grant money from the Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex Museum Development Service's SEWS Museum Development Fund. The money was used to purchase computer equipment and create a database of specialist information about toys.
Claire Eden was curator of the museum between September 2005 and December 2006, replacing Andrew Woodfield.
The museum launched a "Make History Fun" campaign in October 2005. Comedian and archeologist Tony Robinson
was the campaign's patron.
Local band Peggy Sue and the Pirates
staged a short performance at the museum as part of the T Mobile phone network's The Great Escape Festival.
Comedian and archeologist Tony Robinson
's visit to the museum on 1 June 2007 achieved extensive BBC News coverage.
The museum also appeared in The Argushttp://www.theargus.co.uk/ on 29 June 2007 and the Brighton and Hove Leader on 5 July 2007, concerning a fairground exhibit that was displayed between July and October 2007.
that are reputed to be haunted.
It was acquired by the trust in 1990 but required nearly a year of renovations before the museum could open. The renovations included complete electrical rewiring and re-bricking of the arches themselves. The museum opened in 1991.
In 1998 the museum experienced regular water leaks and was flooded, leading to three years of closure. Extensive building work was carried out between February and October 2001 when the museum was waterproofed with corrugated metal and guttering at a cost of £130,000. The museum then reopened (see history of the museum, above).
In the autumn and winter of 2005 the museum again suffered water ingress and further work was carried out in 2006.
all-electric Pullman train was celebrated in style with the unveiling of a spectacular mural depicting a full-sized Pullman Car by the Chairman of the 'Railway Heritage Trust and Museum Patron Sir William McAlpine. Inside the Museum, the new "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition was opened by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Councillor Geoffrey Wells.
The mural - now a Brighton feature - depicts the Brighton Belle waiting to leave Brighton Station and is painted within the inset arches leading to the museum entrance, extending for the full length of the museum. Sir Laurence Olivier, the leading actor of his day and a regular traveller on the train, is pictured at one of the carriage windows.
, Twitter
and Facebook
, the Museum keeps a blog
for updated information on new and forthcoming exhibitions and acquisitions, and hosts a Wiki
for holding additional background information on displays and some individual exhibits.
School visits can be organised through the Education Officer. Advance notice is also requested for other group visits to avoid scheduling conflicts. Admission to the shop area and information point is free. Admission to the museum area is ticketed and prices are:
The building has been adapted for wheelchair users but the museum requests advanced notice if any member of a party requires wheelchair access. http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/visit.html
Toy museum
Toy museums are museums for toys. They typically showcase toys from a particular culture or period. Some museums such as the American Museum of Natural History have toys on display in their permanent collection, but are not full-fledged toy museums and as such are not listed here. Also,...
s, located in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. Its collection of toys and models extends over four thousand square feet of floorspace, through four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. The station master is Mark Epsom...
. Founded in 1991, it has over ten thousand toys and models in its catalogue, including priceless model train collections, radio control aircraft, and many period antique toys.
Its display area includes two large operational model railway layouts (in 0- and 00-gauge), and displays of period pieces from a range of classic manufacturers that includes Bing
Bing (company)
Bing or Gebrüder Bing was a German toy company founded in 1863 in Nuremberg, Germany by two brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing, originally producing metal kitchen utensils.-History:...
, Dinky, Hornby Trains, Märklin
Märklin
Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Wurttemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accessories, today it is best known for model railways and technical toys...
, Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
, Pelham Puppets
Pelham Puppets
Pelham Puppets were first made in the United Kingdom from 1947 onwards under the title Wonky Toys Ltd the company changed its name in 1948 to the now better known Pelham Puppet brand...
, and Steiff. The museum also includes individually engineered pieces such as the working quarter-scale traction engine and the Spitfire fighter planes in the lobby, and a range of other working scale models throughout the museum.
Previously known as the Sussex Toy And Model Museum, it is located in Trafalgar Street, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
under four of the arches supporting Brighton railway station. Entrance to the first arch of the museum, containing the foyer/shop area and the Brighton visitor information point, is free. The museum is a registered charity (no. 1001560).
Foyer, shop and information point
The museum's first arch contains a visitor information point with free maps and brochures, a "stocking filler" toy shop mainly used by visiting school trips, and a set of cabinets of collectable toys and model that are sold on commission for museum customers.It also contains the "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition, which includes Brighton Belle
Brighton Belle
The Brighton Belle was a named train which ran on the Southern Railway from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. The first electric all-Pullman service in the world, it ran from 29 June 1934 till 30 April 1972.-History:...
models and collectables and a set of other Brighton-related models and displays, including a model of the Brighton Pavilion, and models of cars from Magnus Volk
Magnus Volk
Magnus Volk was a pioneer British electrical engineer. He is most notable for having built Volk's Electric Railway, the world's oldest extant electric railway. He also built the unique, but short lived, Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway, together with its unusual Daddy Long Legs...
's electric
Volk's Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway is the oldest operating electric railway in the world. It is a narrow gauge railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton...
and seashore electric
Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway
The Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was a unique coastline railway in Brighton, England that ran through the shallow waters of the English Channel between 1896 and 1901.-Background and Construction:...
railways.
Other items in the foyer include a quarter-scale coal-fired traction engine
Traction engine
A traction engine is a self-propelled steam engine used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it...
, a large motorised Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
, and an overhead quarter-scale Spitfire radio-controlled model airplane. In addition, a working cast iron coin-operated end-of-the-pier metal label-stamping machine allows visitors to produce an authentic metal tag containing up to 19 letters.
The first arch also contains offices and maintenance and restoration workshops that are not open to the public.
Ticketed area
The main area of the museum fills the next three adjacent arches, and contains a large central 1930's 0 gauge model railway layout with contemporary trackside accessories, a 00 gauge model railway layout representing the Sussex countryside that extends through two arch sections, and various collections of model locomotives, Steiff soft toys, a Punch and JudyPunch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
theatre, puppets, Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
and other construction toys, building construction sets, model ships, radio controlled model aircraft (including a large helicopter), and farm, circus and ship toy sets. It also includes military dioramas, display collections of model cars including Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys, and marionnettes.
Exhibition displays draw on outside guest collections, and on varying selections taken from the Museum's core collection of over ten thousand items.
Events
The Museum has an Education Officer who can organise puppet shows and talks for visiting school groups. It also holds "train running" events where some of the rarer model trains are run, and takes part in national initiatives such as "Museums at Night". The main museum space can also be booked as a venue for suitable events.History of the museum
The museum was founded as a charitable trust, the Sussex Toy And Model Museum in 1990 by Christopher Littledale, the museum's first and current Director. The museum's website states that: "One of the principal objectives of the charitable trust is to ensure that the collections remain together and live on in perpetuity for the benefit of future generations."http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/history.htmlRailtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
contractors who interfered with a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
drainage system in the process of re-surfacing the railway station forecourt and taxi area.http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2001/10/5/170626.html At the time of its closure the museum was the only toy museum in England.
The museum was closed for three years while negotiations with Railtrack and Railtrack's property management division, Espacia, took place. Railtrack ultimately agreed to spend £130,000 on repair works to waterproof the museum and a further undisclosed sum as compensation to the museum's trustees, and the museum reopened on 12 October 2001.
In November 2004 HRH Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...
visited the museum and unveiled a commemorative plaque.
In November 2005 the museum was awarded £1,594.70 of grant money from the Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex Museum Development Service's SEWS Museum Development Fund. The money was used to purchase computer equipment and create a database of specialist information about toys.
Claire Eden was curator of the museum between September 2005 and December 2006, replacing Andrew Woodfield.
The museum launched a "Make History Fun" campaign in October 2005. Comedian and archeologist Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
was the campaign's patron.
Local band Peggy Sue and the Pirates
Peggy Sue and The Pirates
Peggy Sue are an indie pop/indie folk band from Brighton in England....
staged a short performance at the museum as part of the T Mobile phone network's The Great Escape Festival.
Comedian and archeologist Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
's visit to the museum on 1 June 2007 achieved extensive BBC News coverage.
The museum also appeared in The Argushttp://www.theargus.co.uk/ on 29 June 2007 and the Brighton and Hove Leader on 5 July 2007, concerning a fairground exhibit that was displayed between July and October 2007.
History of the building
"The Arches" were built in 1845 to support the station forecourt, with the space initially used to store beer barrels for a brewery. The lower archway, where the museum entrance is situated, once housed four dray horses and a corn storage silo. During World War II, the arches provided an area headquarters for the British Army. The structure is also one of a number of buildings in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
that are reputed to be haunted.
It was acquired by the trust in 1990 but required nearly a year of renovations before the museum could open. The renovations included complete electrical rewiring and re-bricking of the arches themselves. The museum opened in 1991.
In 1998 the museum experienced regular water leaks and was flooded, leading to three years of closure. Extensive building work was carried out between February and October 2001 when the museum was waterproofed with corrugated metal and guttering at a cost of £130,000. The museum then reopened (see history of the museum, above).
In the autumn and winter of 2005 the museum again suffered water ingress and further work was carried out in 2006.
The Brighton Belle Mural
On 23 September 2010, the Brighton Toy and Model Museum hosted a street party to celebrate a new milestone in its renaissance programme. The planned return of the iconic Art Deco Brighton BelleBrighton Belle
The Brighton Belle was a named train which ran on the Southern Railway from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. The first electric all-Pullman service in the world, it ran from 29 June 1934 till 30 April 1972.-History:...
all-electric Pullman train was celebrated in style with the unveiling of a spectacular mural depicting a full-sized Pullman Car by the Chairman of the 'Railway Heritage Trust and Museum Patron Sir William McAlpine. Inside the Museum, the new "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition was opened by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Councillor Geoffrey Wells.
The mural - now a Brighton feature - depicts the Brighton Belle waiting to leave Brighton Station and is painted within the inset arches leading to the museum entrance, extending for the full length of the museum. Sir Laurence Olivier, the leading actor of his day and a regular traveller on the train, is pictured at one of the carriage windows.
Online activity
As well as using FlickrFlickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, the Museum keeps a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
for updated information on new and forthcoming exhibitions and acquisitions, and hosts a Wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
for holding additional background information on displays and some individual exhibits.
Opening hours
The museum's standard opening times are:| Tuesday to Friday: | 10:00am – 5:00pm |
| Saturday: | 11:00am – 5:00pm (last admission at 4:00pm) |
| Sunday | Closed |
School visits can be organised through the Education Officer. Advance notice is also requested for other group visits to avoid scheduling conflicts. Admission to the shop area and information point is free. Admission to the museum area is ticketed and prices are:
| Adults | £4.00 |
| Children (ages 4 to 14) | £3.00 |
| Students (under 20) | £3.00 |
| OAPs | £3.00 |
| Family (2+2) | £12.00 |
The building has been adapted for wheelchair users but the museum requests advanced notice if any member of a party requires wheelchair access. http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/visit.html
Governance
The Brighton Toy And Model Museum is an independent, non-profit organisation and a registered charity. The Museum's Trustees are:- Alan Pett - Chairman
- Chris Littledale - Director/Founder
- Michael Gilkes F.R.C.S. - Trustee
- Cecilia Kendall - Trustee
- Hugo Marsh - Trustee
- Kenneth Mathews - Trustee/Secretary
- Milan Simek - Trustee
External links
- Official Website for Brighton Toy and Model Museum
- News portal for Brighton Toy and Model Museum
- February 2011 BTMM Newsletter (pdf)
- Website for the 5BEL Trust, which is bringing back the Brighton Belle
- Robert Nemeth, Building Opinions: Brighton Toy & Model Museum, Latest Homes magazines no.512 (8-14 Feb 2011)
- The Hornby Railway Collector magazine, No 458, November 2010 - cover article and two two-page spreads on the Museum, and Museum Director Chris Littledale
- Brighton Argus newspaper website, search results for published stories
Sources
- "Toy Museum Has A Brighter Outlook" from the Argus archives, first published Saturday 29 September 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- "Happy Ending For Toy Story" from the Argus archives, first published Friday 5 November 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- "A Feast Of Mini-Gigs" from the Argus archives, first published Tuesday 22 May 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- "Museum News And Events" from the Brighton Toy And Model Museum website. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
- "Museum Background" from the Brighton Toy And Model Museum website. Retrieved 23 November 2007.