Thursday 3 May 2012

Dolls on the move, part2... the Georgian manor house.




 As I mentioned earlier we are all moving out in the world right now.. Clearly the most adventurous of my dolls was the residents of my (never quite finished) Georgian manor house. The house was a project of a lifetime..my awesome husband built my childhood dream house, all 3 floors of it, including ballroom, kitchen and servants hall up to the bedrooms and dressing rooms. The dolls were pre-existing creations that I spiced up with new outfits and added some. But when my Lus was born the dollhouse was left in the background..and now the dolls are seeking a new exiting world!

Oddly enough the manor house dolls have been very popular!
 First to go was the Posh family. They never really lived in the house, stayed there regularly. Lord and Lady Posh likes to bring along their little daughter to parade and entertain their friends..a little odd by our standards..but the concept of loving parents does change over time. They're ridiculously rich and likes to flaunt it Georgian-style with their wigs and walkingsticks. No animal or peasant goes safe when Lord Posh goes for his daily hunt! Lady Posh likes to get up late in the morning, eat cake and order shoes of plenty in the afternoon. Little lady Aurora Posh is just wishes for someone to play with..it can be a lonely life as her parents doll..

Isabella
Then of course there's the dolls actually living in the manor house!  The dolls modelled after me and my husband will be the only ones joining us in England..sort of like a memory of it all..but the 2 sisters living there has already found their way out into the world. 
Claudia with the lord and lady of the house.
Isabella and Claudia are the Lady of the house's sisters. They haven't yet managed to get married so they hang around for the next season when the parties will be starting again. Isabella likes fashion and flirting but is a bit too romantic for this world. She trusts she will find true love out there and hopefully see some adventure on the way. Claudia on the other hand is the youngest of them all and has a dramatic side to her. A bit of a lost soul she tries to make a difference by stomping her feet. Her dream is really to find someone who accepts her..and maybe learn horseback riding properly!

But there are also many more dolls living in the house..also known as the servant dolls.These, to me, are far more interesting! They live at the ground floor and some of them never even see the splendour up stairs. Their space consists of the hall, the kitchen, the serving room and a shared bedroom for the female servants..and one for the male servants.

In charge of it all is the butler, mr.Brown, and his wife the housekeeper, mrs.Brown. He is a serious man who believes in structure and rules. When you need a crafty mind to bend those rules the servants turn to mrs.Brown who has become like a mother to them all. 
Then there is the footman Charles. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has a kind heart. Him and the coachman Henry sometimes has a drink in the back ally by the kitchen at the end of the day and dream of a better life. Though Henry is a troublemaker and has a way of getting in his own way so Charles has decided to tag along to clear up his mess..you know..some one has to. 
The maids, Jenny, Millicent and Vera are probably the most exited by the prospect of a new world. 
Millie, Jenny, Vera, Hanna. Henry, Charles, mr. and mrs. Brown
Jenny is tired of washing dishes all day everyday and tired of always sleeping in the top bunk and, as the youngest maid, being bossed around by everyone. She longs for the big city and all the people she might meet. 
Millicent grew up on a farm near the manor house and has never been anywhere else so she's a little worried..she's gong to miss her lower bunk bed and her knitting in the early morning..but maybe she'll mostly miss Henry..they were getting married you know!
Vera's not too worried. She travelled from France as a child and has moved around a lot over the years. Se sees it as her duty to look after the other girls out there. It's a tough world and she intends to use all she has to get by. Besides..the Family was really getting on her nerves lately.
And lastly, no Georgian home is complete without a slave. Hanna. Truth be told the servants adore her and she sleeps in the best place, behind the fireplace all worm and cosy, but she is technically still a slave..

 
Aside from them there's also the street seller, Annabell and her children, Frank..who sadly died earlier this year..and the oh so cute daughter Julie, most commonly known as Honeybee. She sold flowers on the street by the manor house and became almost like one of the servants. The ladies really do like their flowers!


Hopefully they will all find new homes and lots of adventures out there in the world. Good luck to them!