Part of the optical and mechanical room

The Toy Museum has been a family owned and run business for three generations.

Following the success of Pollock's Toy Theatre shop near Covent Garden we started the Toy Museum in 1956 in a single attic room. As the shop and museum grew we annexed other rooms for the museum and also added traditional toys to the shop.

By 1969 the business had outgrown our premises and we now occupy two adjacent freehold buildings in Scala Street, one a listed building, which house the original toy theatre shop, the toy museum and the toy shop.

Pollock's toy museum occupies six rooms and two staircases.

Up staircase: American toys and board games.

Room 1: Optical, mechanical and constructional toys as well as educational and soldier toys.

Room 2: Tin toys and hand puppets.

Room 3: Wax and composition dolls.

Room 4: Teddy bears, Lead Miniatures and Doll's Houses.

Down staircase: Folk Toys from the Alps, Russia, Poland and the Balkans

Room 5: Dolls made from china, wood, fabric and celluloid. An inset room containing a full size reproduction of young girl's nursery from about 1900.

Room 6: Toy theatres and an inset room containing a full size reproduction of a toy theatre printing operation.

Down staircase: English dolls, folk toys from Europe, India, Africa, China and Japan.

Party Visits by Children

The Setting: The Toy Museum occupies two connected 18th Century residential houses with their period fire places, windows and doors unchanged.

The rooms are small and connected by narrow winding staircases. The atmosphere thus created is highly evocative, curious and quant, making it a natural setting for the toys on display.

Age Groups: Children aged from 7 upwards are welcome and as young as 4 if accompanied by an adult. Some exhibits are specifically displayed at the eye-level of a young child. Children over 12 might also enjoy the museum if they have an interest in history, theatre, art and/or design.

School Parties: are most welcome with a minimum of 1 adult per 10 children please. Ideally we recommend that the party leader should make a personal reconnaissance beforehand.

To Visit: Please book in advance to ensure you do not clash with another party.

Performances: By arrangement you may reserve a live toy theatre or puppet performance.

Call 020 7636 3452 or email us here: info@pollockstoytheatres.com
 

Accessibility
 

Due to the architecture of our old buildings there is sadly no easy access to the museum as the stairs are narrow, twisty and steep and there are no lifts.

However, the ground floor shop area is quite accessible.