Titania's Palace is a miniature castle (dollhouse) that was hand-built in Ireland by James Hicks & Sons, Irish Cabinet Makers, who were commissioned by Sir Nevile Wilkinson from 1907 to 1922. Wilkinson's daughter Guendolen claimed to have seen a

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

running under the roots of a tree, in a wood beside their home at Mount Merrion House. It is said that Guendolen felt sorry for the fairies, who have to live in caves. In the early 1930s, Wilkinson loaned the miniature to the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...

, who exhibited the item around the country, in an effort to raise funds. While exhibited in Croydon in the UK, Titania's Palace was visited by 4,882 people and led to over £150 (a sum equivalent to approximately £10,000 in 2017 prices) being donated to the Croydon Branch of the NSPCC. In 1978, Titania's Palace went up on auction at Christie's but was lost to Ireland in a bidding war to Denmark where it remains on display today. The palace consists of 18 rooms and salons, is 4'1" tall, is built in a 12" to 1" scale (1:12)and contains hand-carved

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...

furniture. There are 3000 tiny works of art and miniatures from around the world on display inside the palace. When the palace was purchased at auction in London in 1978, the purchaser was revealed to be

Legoland Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park co ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. It stayed on display at Legoland until 2007. In 2006 Count

Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille Michael Preben, Count Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille ( da, Michael Preben Greve Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille) (born 26 February 1965) is a Danish Count and a landowner. By birth he is a member of an ancient House of Ahlefeldt. Early life He was born as ...

made a loan agreement with Lego to display Titania's Palace at Egeskov Castle in Denmark from 2007 onwards. It remains at Egeskov Denmark. The underbidders at the London auction were disappointed at Titania's Palace being lost to Ireland. They commissioned a new palace, a dollhouse called Tara's Palace, which is on display in the Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood, located in

Powerscourt Estate Powerscourt Estate ( ga, Eastát Chúirt an Phaoraigh), located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying . The house, originally a 13th-century castl ...

, near

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Other notable dollhouses

Other notable dollhouses include Tara's Palace, which is on display in Ireland at the Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood in Powerscourt; the Stettheimer dollhouse in New York City, which is primarily known for its original miniature artwork;

Astolat Dollhouse Castle Astolat Dollhouse Castle (also known as Astolat Castle or Dollhouse Castle) is a museum-quality dollhouse, which was appraised as "the most valuable dollhouse in the world," at $8.5 million in 2015. Its great value is attributable to its hand-m ...

, appraised at $8.5 million; and

Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...

's fairy castle, housed in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

References

{{Reflist
Legoland WebsiteTara's Palace Trust and Museum of Childhood website

External links

Egeskovs Titania's Palace WebsiteHistory of Tara's Palace Trust
Decorative arts Cultural history of Ireland Antiques Dollhouses