Y Bwthyn Bach

Last updated
The Little Cottage
Y Bwthyn Bach
Berkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Berkshire, England
Alternative namesThe Welsh Cottage
General information
TypeTwo-thirds scale cottage
Architectural style Eclectic, neoclassical
Location Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park
CountryEngland
Coordinates 51°26′19″N0°36′22″W / 51.43865°N 0.60616°W / 51.43865; -0.60616 (Y Bwthyn Bach, wendy house of Princess Elizabeth II)
Current tenants British royal family
Inaugurated16 March 1932
Owner Charles III
Landlord Crown Estate
Dimensions
Diameter24 ft × 8 ft
(7.3 m × 2.4 m)
Other dimensions5 ft-high
(1.5 m) rooms
Technical details
Floor count2
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edmund Charles Morgan Willmott
Website
www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/royal-childhood/buckingham-palace/video-the-welsh-cottage

Y Bwthyn Bach ("The Little Cottage") is a royal wendy house standing close to Royal Lodge within Windsor Great Park in England since 1932.

Contents

History

The two-thirds scale thatched cottage was a gift to Princess Elizabeth for her sixth birthday (later Queen Elizabeth II) from the people of Wales and placed in the grounds of Royal Lodge. [1] [2]

Designed by architect Edmund Willmott as a Welsh-cottage style playhouse, it measures 24 feet long, eight feet deep and with a ceiling height of five feet. Built from materials left over from the redevelopment of Llandough Hospital, it has four rooms: kitchen; living room; and accessed via oak stairs a bedroom; and a bathroom. Services include full running hot and cold water, electricity and a heated towel rail in the bathroom. The kitchen has a working fridge, gas cooker and a miniature blue and white porcelain dining and tea set. In the living room is a working miniature radio, a little oak dresser, a bookcase filled with Beatrix Potter's books, and a picture of their mother the Duchess of York hangs over the oak mantlepiece. [1]

On 17 February 1932, an insurance policy for the house was taken out in the name of Princess Elizabeth of York. [3] On being transported from its construction site in the Welsh Valleys to Drill Hall, Cardiff, the tarpaulin covering the house caught fire, damaging the cottage. Quickly repaired under the insurance policy, the house was presented to Duke of York and his wife on their visit to Greyfriars Hall, Cardiff, on 16 March 1932. [1] The keys were presented to the royal couple by school girl Jean Blake, daughter of plumber and engineer William Blake who helped to construct the cottage, on behalf of the "Princess Elizabeth Model House Committee". [1] Initially put on public display at the Daily Mail -sponsored Ideal Home Exhibition at the Olympia exhibition centre, London, it was then sent on a tour of the UK to raise funds for children's hospital charities. Fully repaired, it was sited on its final location close to Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, before the Princesses were allowed to play with it from December 1933. [1]

In 2012 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, it was restored under a plan initiated and managed by Princess Beatrice, paid for by her father Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Restored under a pale green and cream colour scheme, the works included new curtains and upholstery, the paintwork was refreshed, the roof was rethatched and the cottage rewired. [1]

Further reading

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Griffiths, Emmy (23 August 2018). "Inside the Queen's impressive Wendy House - and why she was able to keep the gift". large Wendy House which included a kitchen, living room, a bedroom and a bathroom that came complete with hot and cold running water, electricity and even a heated towel rail. … a mini radio and a tea set … inspected by the Queen Mother and King George VI, but before it was presented to Elizabeth for her birthday, it was damaged in a fire in transit. However, the damage was soon repaired … official gift that came from the people of Wales and … doesn't belong to the Royal Collection Trust … Princess Beatrice, helped to restore the house in 2012 … two-thirds sized house{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. Wood, Chris (29 September 2019). "The Queen's miniature house: Welsh artist sent pictures". Saxon Jenkins, who died in 1989, made paintings of Welsh castles to go in a miniature house given to the Queen when she was six in 1932. … miniature thatched cottage, Y Bwthyn Bach (The Little Cottage) … a gift from the people of Wales.
  3. Messers. C. J. Hardwicke & Company, Cardiff; Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York of No.145, Piccadilly, London. W.1. "Policy No. 400681". On the building of the miniature private dwelling house known as "Y Bwthyn Bach" with domestic offices attached or belonging thereto, all asbestos and/or timber built and roofed with thatch, situate No.145 Piccadily, London.W.1 or anywhere in the United Kingdom. £750 On furniture, effects and all other contents therein. £500. … Period of Insurance: From the to {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)