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 called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

running under the roots of a tree, in a wood beside their home at

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) southw ...

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 founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

, 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: Universit ...

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 (, trademarked in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It stayed on display at Legoland until 2007. In 2006 Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille 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 A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy house made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North Americ ...

called Tara's Palace, which is on display in the Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood, located in

Powerscourt Estate Powerscourt Estate (), 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 castle, was extensively altered durin ...

, near

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 2,008 at the 2022 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Other notable dollhouses

Other notable dollhouses include Tara's Palace, which is on display in Ireland at the

Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood Powerscourt Estate (), located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its country house, house and landscaped gardens, today occupying . The house, originally a 13th-century castle, was extensively ...

in Powerscourt; the Stettheimer dollhouse in New York City, which is primarily known for its original miniature artwork; Astolat Dollhouse Castle, 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

Legoland WebsiteTara's Palace Trust and Museum of Childhood website

External links

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