Cockrell Hall Has Arrived!

Cockrell Hall arrived at my farm in Arkansas last Thursday via an 18 wheeler truck that almost got stuck in our driveway. The crate looked huge as he pulled it off the truck and even larger once we got it into the house! It had been carefully crated, wrapped in bubble wrapping and had about a million styrofoam 'peanuts' filling every spare space. It took quite a while to uncrate but it was so worth it! This piece of art exceeds my expectations even though Kevin Jackson the builder had supplied me with photos during every step of the building process. It is just magnificent! Everyone who has seen Cockrell Hall has just become facinated with it-young and old, male and female all seem to see something different in this beautiful little home. Unfortunately I was laid low by a virus for the first 3-4 days after it arrived, but I'm feeling a bit better and have started filling the rooms with my collection of minis. This is going to be such fun! I hope you enjoy Cockrell hall too!

Cockrell Hall is all packed up and ready for the long journey to America!

I would like to share even more images of Cockrell Hall crafted by Kevin Jackson of KJ Dollshouses of Devon, UK. This is a side view featuring the wonderful glazed windows. You can also see the brick plinth that is the foundation the house sits upon. It's so realistic!

The Great hall is two stories and has the most amazing handcrafted fireplace surround and lighting. I can't wait to see how my tables and benches look in this room! I've collected many pieces that will look fantastic in the hall including a treasure chest with 15 drawers full of mini 'treasures!'

Miniature Hobby

I am so in awe of many of the people on various websites who make the most marvelous miniatures. I thought about trying to build my own house, but I don't have the attention span or the temperament (not to mention that I don't know how!) for it. I do however, like to craft lots of little fiddly things like miniature perfume bottles, clothing, clay foods, etc. I find it a relaxing hobby and one that I can put down and pick up when I have time to work on it. I also like needlepoint and have good intentions of fashioning some wall hangings for Cockrell Hall. I like working with glass beading and jewelry findings too for some of my work. I've made so many of these little things in the past few months that I decided my house needed a 'market' to display some of these bits. I did some research about Tudor houses and found this was quite common in olden times to sell things at a market on the first floor of a house. I've named mine Mooney's Market after my Irish side of the family who owned markets in America and in Ireland.

Cockrell Hall Tudor Dollhouse 2012

Cockrell Hall Blog:

I have been enthralled with all things miniature since I received a beautiful Federal style dollhouse for my 10th Christmas when we lived in Alabama. I had collected many miniature treasures when traveling with my family over the years and had no place to put them (my collection had outgrown my other house). I've stuck with the hobby for almost 40 years. I found myself wanting a new house, (Tudor style my favorite architectural era!) but had no clue where to find one. I started researching Tudor dollhouses on the Internet and came across an article about a British builder/craftsman who specialized in fashioning absolutely stunning replicas of Tudor-style mini houses. I contacted Kevin Jackson in the U.K. and also visited his website and the fun started there! I ordered a Canterbury house with modifications and Kevin began construction on 'Cockrell Hall' on October 1st 2011. This has been a fun three months of choosing exactly how my new house will look. Kevin has included me in virtually every major decision from placement of doors, trimwork, style of fireplaces, colors, and much more! It's been so much fun! He's provided me with with photos of every step of the build from the ground up. My house will have 7 rooms including a great hall that we decided upon kind of late in the process and a market room on the ground floor. The great hall features a beautiful vaulted ceiling, two chandeliers and a handmade stone faced fireplace. Kevin's houses all have electric lighting and the option of 'lighted fireplaces' which mine will have. Cockrell Hall will also have a remote control for the lighting where I can turn each room and floor and fireplace on and off and with a dimmer too! My house is now finished and Kevin is building the crate today for the transport to America. I live in Arkansas so it will be a long journey for a tiny house. I can't wait to fill it with all of my minis! I can't wait until it arrives!