A Second World War evacuee has been busy setting up the north-east’s newest museum.
Little Treasures Toy and Dollhouse Museum was based near Kemnay, but over the last few weeks its growing collection has been moved to a new home in Banff.
Thousands of dollhouses, train sets, board games and puppets have been transported to the town’s former Methodist church on Seafield Street.
The items have been brought together over many years by Emily Innes who has been heavily involved in setting up the displays ahead of opening at the end of the month.
Mrs Innes began collecting dollhouses in the early 1990’s.
She initially bought just three, but the collection has grown and grown and now stands at more than 350.
And they are joined in the collection by a wealth of other toys of yesteryear, many of which will be instantly recognisable to visitors of all ages.
The seed for the collection was sown during the Second World War when Mrs Innes was living in Hong Kong.
She was evacuated to Australia with her mother and sister in the days before Japanese troops arrived and was forced to leave behind many of her beloved toys, including a Shirley Temple doll.
The collecting did not begin immediately, but it was there in the back of her mind and when Mrs Innes inherited a croft after her parents died, she set up her own craft shop with a difference.
Mrs Innes said: “I decided to have a dollhouse section in the shop and it gradually grew from there.
“There were a couple of outbuildings on the croft and we secured planning permission and turned it into a little dollhouse museum.”
Mrs Innes was a regular visitor at toy auctions in Montrose and would always come back from the events with new additions.
And she hopes the new museum’s showcase of toys from yesteryear becomes a major draw.
Mrs Innes said: “This is a beautiful church and the museum should really become a tourist attraction because we have a lovely toys and dollhouses.”
Little Treasures Toy and Dollhouse Museum, on Seafield Street in Banff, will officially open on Sunday, March 31 at 10am.
The museum will then be open from Wednesday to Sunday, between 10am and 4.30pm, until the end of October.
