The Lady Mayor visits Pollock’s Toy Museum at Leadenhall Market
Thursday 13 November
Dame Susan Langley, the recently installed Lady Mayor of London, visited Pollock’s Toy Museum’s mini-museum and outlet at Leadenhall Market in the heart of the City of London, as part of her tour before switching on the Christmas lights. She is talking to Pollock’s Curator, Debby Brown.
She is a fan of the Pearly tradition and its fundraising achievements, so we were delighted to give her one of our limited-edition cotton prints of a Pearly Queen doll, designed in 1980 by Maria Wood. This makes up into a companionable rag doll, doing the Lambeth Walk, the dance and song associated with London costermongers.
At Leadenhall this year, we’ve been celebrating the Pearly tradition with a display including dolls in pearly costumes and historic photos from our museum collection, going back to a previous exhibition held at Pollock’s in 1961. The Pearlies are soon returning to storage, and a new exhibition will take their place.
