When the toyshop turns to boats
By February, Bartholomew is already thinking about the water.
Christmas work is over. At Bellweather & Sons, the next season begins with hulls. Bartholomew carves them in February, leaving time for the rigging in March.
From Easter, the little yachts are sold for sailing on the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens. Boys and men sail them through the summer; the boats hanging over the toyshop window are left from earlier springs.
It is one way the wider city enters this small shop. A winter afternoon at the bench is connected to a sunny stretch of water months away. Next time you look through the window, look up as well as in.
Places to visit
People to meet
Look closer at the illustration ↗Stories
The Sleeper Train to Brindlecombe
Leave the toyshop with Bartholomew Bellweather and take the overnight sleeper towards his sister’s inn.
With Bartholomew Bellweather, Tobias Tallowick, Dorothea
The Lamplighter’s Round
Walk Jonah Fenn’s evening round, from shop windows and familiar doorways down to the last lamp by the river.
With Jonah Fenn, Bartholomew Bellweather, Rosie Fenn, Kit Fenn, Constable Dimmock, Edward Bellweather