Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop is a shop selling vintage and retro toys in London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

. One of the oldest toy shops in London, it had its origins in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

in 1851 before being taken over in 1877 by Benjamin Pollock, who ran it until his death in 1937. ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' actor Peter Baldwin co-owned the shop from 1988 to his death in 2015. Located at 44 The Market Building, Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop specialises in Victorian

toy theatre Toy theater, also called paper theater and model theater (also spelt theatre, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences), is a form of miniature theater dating back to the early 19th century in Europe. Toy theaters were ...

s, both original and reproduction, in addition to books, puppets, music boxes and other traditional toys.

History

The Hoxton shop

John Redington (1819–1876), who described himself as a "Printer, Bookbinder and Stationer; Tobacconist; and Dealer in miscellaneous articles", opened a theatrical print warehouse at 73 Hoxton Street in 1851. Redington was an agent for the toy theatre publisher John Kilby Green, and when Green died in 1860 Redington bought up his engraved copper plates. Redington ran the Hoxton Street business until his death in 1876, following which his widow, youngest son William, and daughter Eliza carried on with the business; but soon only Eliza Redington was left to run the print business. Eliza Redington married Benjamin Pollock (1856–1937) in 1877, following which they ran the shop together. The couple went on to have eight children – four sons and four daughters. The business that Benjamin Pollock had inherited consisted of the toy theatre sheets of both J. K. Green and J. Redington. The material subsequently sold by Pollock was therefore predominantly from these previous publishers, with the imprint changed to 'B. Pollock'.Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop
-

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

Collection During the 1880s Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop, as it was now known, was still opposite the

Britannia Theatre The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton, London.''Britanni ...

at 73 Hoxton Street in

. Benjamin Pollock became a maker of toy theatres – or the 'juvenile drama' as it was called at the time, selling toy theatre drops and characters from contemporary dramas for "a penny plain, twopence coloured". Pollock generally republished older plays by using existing plates, simply changing the names of the actors. His version of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', for example, which could be bought from Pollock in the 1880s, used plates from 1844. Pollock's business was not a success as tastes in the 1880s changed towards

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that uses pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lens (optics), lenses, and a light source. ...

shows and other innovations, but when

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

visited the shop in 1884 things considerably improved. Stevenson wrote of the shop 'If you love art, folly or the bright eyes of children, speed to Pollock's'.About Us - Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop website
/ref> Today a plaque marks the shop's original location on Hoxton Street.

Relocations

Following the death of Pollock's son William during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, his daughter Louise assisted in the business. The theatre historian and writer

George Speaight George Victor Speaight FRSA (; 6 September 1914 – 22 December 2005) was a theatre historian, author and performer and the leading authority on 19th-century toy theatre. Early years One of his brothers was the Shakespearean actor Robert Speai ...

was first associated with Pollock's when he gave a toy theatre performance of '' The Corsican Brothers'' at The George Inn in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

for Pollock's 80th birthday in 1936. Speaight was already gaining a reputation for his juvenile drama performances using characters and settings obtained from Pollock's. Following Pollock's death in 1937 his daughters Louise and Selina managed the shop. In 1944 they sold the stock to the bookseller Alan Keen who, operating the business under the name of Benjamin Pollock Limited, moved it to 1 John Adam Street in the Adelphi Building off the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop on the Spitalfields Life website - 17 December 2009
/ref> just before the Hoxton premises were severely damaged by a bomb. In 1946 Keen appointed

as the manager of the shop. Speaight was to be associated with the shop and the museum that later grew from it for the rest of his life.'George and Mary Speaight - Passionate performer and historian who kept the art of English toy theatre alive'
- ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 12 January 2016 Keen modernised the stock to appeal to a contemporary audience with a

version of the 1948

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

film of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' devised by Speaight among other innovations. A supporter of the shop at this time was the actor

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

, who wrote introductions to the plays. However, the business was a financial failure and in 1950 it moved to smaller premises at 16 Little Russell Street. In 1951 Benjamin Pollock Limited went into receivership. The bankrupt stock was purchased in 1955 by BBC journalist Marguerite Fawdry,The Rise and Fall of Toy Theatre - Craftsmanship Magazine - 6 December 2015
/ref> who obtained the shop and its entire stock when trying to buy wire character slides for her son’s toy theatre. She rented a shop at 44

Monmouth Street Monmouth Street is a street in the Seven Dials district of Covent Garden, London, England. Monmouth Street runs north to south from Shaftesbury Avenue to a crossroads with Tower Street and Shelton Street, where it becomes St Martin's Lane. A ...

and moved the business into it. From 1956 it also operated as

Pollock's Toy Museum Pollock's Toy Museum is a small museum at two sites in London, England: the Whitgift Centre in Croydon and at Leadenhall Market. The museum was started in 1956 in a single attic room at 44 Monmouth Street, near Covent Garden. As the enterpris ...

, which today is a small private museum run by the founder's grandson, Eddy Fawdry. In 1957 Benjamin Pollock Limited acquired all of the plates of the publisher George Skelt following his death the year before. A rent rise on the Monmouth Street premises in 1969 and the business passing out of receivership resulted in the museum and toy shop moving to 1 Scala Street, becoming a charitable trust and being renamed Pollock's Toy Theatres Limited.

Move to Covent Garden

Under Marguerite Fawdry's ownership Pollock's became one of the first shops to open in the newly renovated Covent Garden Piazza building in 1980. In 1988 she sold the shop to Christopher Baldwin and his brother Peter Baldwin, a toy theatre collector and actor best known for his role of

Derek Wilton Derek Bernard Wilton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Peter Baldwin. He appeared in the show intermittently between 1976 and 1987, before becoming a regular from 1988 until the char ...

in the UK

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'', who had been the shop's manager between acting jobs. In 2008 Christopher Baldwin retired and Louise Heard, who had worked in the shop since the 1980s, became the co-owner with Peter Baldwin. In 2010 they opened a second shop in Stable Yard at

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...

. Since Peter Baldwin's death in 2015 the shop has been run by Louise Heard.Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop in The Dolls' House Magazine - 5 June 2014
/ref> Adult customers have included

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

. Today the shop produces its own range of

s by contemporary artists such as Kate Baylay and Clive Hicks-JenkinsAnnouncing a New Toy Theatre for Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop - Clive Hicks-Jenkins website - 7 January 2016
/ref> which have been displayed at

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...

and the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. It sells reproduction and original toy theatres from around the world in addition to books, puppets, music boxes and other traditional toys.

References

External links

Official websiteBenjamin Pollock's Toy Shop
on

Visit London London & Partners (L&P) is London's business growth and destination agency. History It was set up by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on 1 April 2011. It is a PPP and not-for-profit business focused on promotion of London driving jobs and growt ...