Collector's prized doll's house goes on display

The favourite doll's house of acclaimed collector Caroline Hamilton has gone on show for the first time since her death.

Hamilton, who died in January aged 86, and fellow enthusiast Jane Fiddick amassed more than 60 miniature homes during their lifetime - most of which have been on display at Newby Hall & Gardens, near Ripon, since 2015.

However, Hamilton kept one piece, called Versailles, for her personal collection.

Now, following her death, the house has been reunited with the rest of the collection at Newby Hall, where curator Lucinda Compton said: ""It's like the final icing on the cake."

She added: "This Versailles house was obviously so gorgeous that Caroline wanted to keep it at home until the end and then sadly she died and it's come here."

The piece was built in 1988 by Kevin Mulvany and inspired by family photographs of the French home where Hamilton once lived. It is now valued at £50,000.

Commercial director of Newby Hall Stuart Gill said the objects in the house represented "probably the top 10% of miniaturist makers in the world".

The house features a replica of a painting by French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, which took three months to paint with a brush that had just two hairs on it.

"It's filled with absolute treasures and examples of the finest miniaturists craft work, right the way down to a tiny little set of dominoes," Gill said.

"I'm glad there's no gust of wind here otherwise we'll be forever picking them up."

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