Brighton Toy and Model Museum

Brighton Toy and Model Museum (sometimes referred to as Brighton Toy Museum) is an independent toy museum situated in Brighton, East Sussex (registered charity no. 1001560). Founded in 1991, the museum holds over ten thousand toys and models, and occupies four thousand square feet of floor space within four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station. The model collection focuses on exhibition-grade engineered models, and large overhead radio-controlled aircraft (fixed-wing aircraft mostly by Denis Hefford, and helicopters by Gordon Bowd), The toy collection focuses on commercially produced toys that would have been available in UK toyshops up until the 1950s and 1960s. Manufacturers and brands represented include Anchor Blocks, Brickplayer, Britains Ltd., Bayko, Bing, Bassett-Lowke, Budgie Toys, Georges Carette, Corgi Toys, Dinky, Hornby Trains, Lotts Bricks, Märklin, Matchbox, Meccano, Mettoy, Minibrix, Minic Ships, Pelham Puppets, Primus Engineering, Rock & Graner, Signalling Equipment Limited, Steiff, Skybirds, Spot-On, Tri-ang (Lines Brothers) and Trix. The museum also features a large 1930s-era gauge 0 model railway layout and two smaller modern 00-gauge layouts (pushbutton-operated), dollhouses, and mechanical coin-operated penny arcade machines, originally from John Hayward's Slot Machine Museum at the Palace Pier. History History of the building The museum occupies a set of Victorian brick arches that were built to support a station forecourt and a bridge over Trafalgar Street to connect the front of David Mocatta's 1841 station building with Queen's Road (1845), which had been created to provide easier access to the station than Trafalgar Street (whose slope could be difficult for horses to climb). The space was originally used to store beer barrels for a brewery, and three of the arches outside still show a red equilateral triangle, the registered trademark of Bass Brewery, the first trademark in the UK (Trademark 000001) . The current museum entrance held stalls for four dray horses (now museum offices and toilets) and a corn storage silo. The arches count as part of the larger station structure and are Grade II* listed (entry 1380797) The structure is also one of a number of buildings in Brighton that are reputed to be haunted. The space was acquired and renovated for the museum in 1990. Christopher Littledale The museum's Founder-Director Chris Littledale had been a collector since he was a child, and had worked for an architectural modelmaking firm and as a consultant (model railways) for auctioneer Christie's. This gave him a network of friends who were also serious collectors, and the group decided to look for a site that could be converted into a museum, based around Chris' 1930s model railway layout and collection, and supplemented by their further collections. The derelict site was leased and overhauled in 1990, Chris' layout transplanted from his workshop at the British Engineerium, cabinetry installed, and the museum opened in 1991. The collections have continued to expand since, thanks to acquisitions and donations. The Littledale-Brough Trust In 1994 it was decided to give the collections an additional level of security by placing them in a separate trust, the Littledale Brough Trust ("LBT"). The use of a separate trust ensures that the collection exists as a separate entity, and that should the museum ever close, the collection cannot be sold off and dispersed, but will persist until it finds another suitable home. Layout Museum lobby Entrance to the first arch of the museum, containing the foyer/shop area and the Brighton Visitor Information Point, is free. This area provides free maps and brochures, and has a small "stocking filler" toy shop used by visiting school trips, secondhand books, and a set of "Collector's Market" cabinets containing collectables that are sold on a commission basis. It also contains the "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition, whose Brighton-related models and displays include the Brighton Pavilion, Magnus Volk's electric and seashore electric railways, the old Brighton locomotive works, and the Brighton Belle Pullman train. The largest exhibits in the foyer are a quarter-scale coal-fired traction engine and steamroller, a large motorised Meccano Ferris wheel, and an overhead quarter-scale radio-controlled Spitfire model aircraft. The first arch also contains offices and construction and restoration workshops that are not open to the public. Ticketed main area The ticketed area of the museum fills the next three arches, and contains the three model railway layouts, and over fifty display areas. Exhibition displays draw on outside guest collections and on varying selections taken from the Museum's core collection. Main display areas (as of August 2025) Central Arch Two Arches Three, Four, and Three again (clockwise) Puppet Corner Glamour of Brighton The Brighton Toy and Model Index The Brighton Toy and Model Index (ISSN 2399-1798) is an online encyclopedia on toys and models manufactured up until the end of the 1960s, maintained and updated by the museum. The "Index" runs on the MediaWiki platform, and as of 2025 has nearly ten thousand content pages and over twelve thousand images. The Index contains entries for most of the museum exhibits, and can be accessed by visitors via museum screens, or on visitors' own devices via the museum's free wifi. Entries are cross-indexed by cabinet number, and cabinet entries can also be triggered by QR code. Events and temporary exhibitions The museum is a regular annual venue for the Brighton Fringe, and has also hosted events for the Brighton Science Festival, Sofar Sounds, and the Toy Museum Folk Club (Folkroom Records). Artists using the site as a (small) music venue have included Ayanna Witter-Johnson (13 April 2019). Public Train Running Days are typically held twice a year (Spring and Autumn), . Temporary exhibitions for 2025 address Paddington Bear, and the Lehmann Gross Bahn ("LGB") garden railway system. Non-public resources As well as a carpentry workshop that produces the museum's cabinetry and displays, the museum also has an in-house toy repair and restoration workshop, with tinsmithing tools and its own sample library of parts and reference paint finishes. The reference library is the centre of most of the historical research that takes place in the museum, and a source of material for the museum's online knowledgebase. Partnerships The museum became the first community rail partner to Brighton Station in March 2013, and also announced a twinning with the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Istanbul the same year. Projects Trafalgar Street Regeneration Project (fundraising stage) The project aims to improve the museum's exterior wall and the station bridge underside with new lighting and signage, and by removing modern brick infill and replacing it with ornamental glasswork more similar to the appearance of the arches in the 1920s/1930s. Work on one arch (the museum entrance) is currently scheduled for late 2025. "Toys in the Community" oral history project (2014–16) A 2014 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund supported "Toys in the Community: Valuing memories of dolls, teddy bears and construction toys", a two-year community outreach and oral history project. Frank Hornby 150th anniversary project (2012–2013) A 2012 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped the museum to coordinate, publicise and organise celebrations and events during 2013 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Frank Hornby. The grant funded an expansion of the Museum's online coverage of Meccano, Hornby trains and Dinky Toys, a public wifi access point, and the installation and ongoing development of a touchscreen information system to allow members of the public to retrieve information on exhibits from around the museum. The Brighton Belle Mural (2010) The planned return of the Art Deco Brighton Belle all-electric Pullman train was celebrated on 23 September 2010 with a street party and the unveiling of a full-sized mural of a Pullman carriage by the Chairman of the 'Railway Heritage Trust and Museum Patron Sir William McAlpine. Inside the museum, the "Glamour of Brighton" exhibition was opened by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Councillor Geoffrey Wells. The mural extends for the full length of the museum, and includes regular passenger Laurence Olivier at one of the carriage windows. Make History Fun (2005-2006) A series of events starting in October 2005, with Tony Robinson the campaign's patron. Tony Robinson's visit to the museum on 1 June 2007 achieved extensive BBC News coverage. Television appearances online clips BBC1 clip: "Christina has a guided tour of Brighton Toy Museum" ITV News clip: Mechanics Made Easy items on display: fundraising to renovate entrance. programmes Quest: Salvage Hunters Series 17 Episode 7 – Rebecca Pritchard talks to Chris Littledale about Meccano – 2023 BBC2: Celebrity Antiques Road Trip - Series 11 Episode 9 – A visit to the museum by Francis Rossi. – Thu 8 Dec 2022 BBC1: Bargain Hunt Series 56 Lewes 19 – Chris Littledale gives Christina Trevanion a guided tour. – Fri 26 Jun 2020 BBC4: Timeshift Series 4 episode 7: The Joy of (Train) Sets – commentators include Chris Littledale and Pete Waterman Wed 23 Jan 2013 Sky Atlantic: Urban Secrets Episode 2: Brighton – Alan Cumming presents an unconventional view of Brighton. – 2012 Sources "Toy Museum Has A Brighter Outlook" from the Argus archives, first published Saturday 29 September 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2007. "Happy Ending For Toy Story" from the Argus archives, first published Friday 5 November 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2007. "A Feast Of Mini-Gigs" from the Argus archives, first published Tuesday 22 May 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007. "Museum Background" Archived 5 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine from the Brighton Toy and Model Museum website. Retrieved 23 November 2007. "Photogrammetry at Brighton Toy and Model Museum" (August 2019) DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32030.89920 "The C60 "Buckyball" structure, published in Meccano Magazine, 1928" (April 2025) DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13057.57440 References