Ipswich man builds dolls house to help raise money for charity

Robin Stroud, 82, created the three-storey dolls house himself by hand at his home in Ipswich.

Robin has spent hours working on his creation (Image: Archant)

The dolls house will eventually be sold off to raise money for the Disability Advice Service East Suffolk, which is based in Martlesham.

The charity helps people with disability related problems and Mr Stroud hopes that the sale will raise even a small amount to help their work.

"I have been involved with DAS for 15 years," said Mr Stroud.

"I just thought that somehow we could raise some money for the organisation."

Making dolls houses is not a new passion for Mr Stroud who has previously made them to help other charities.

"I first made a dolls house when my eldest daughter was five, she is now in her 50s," said Mr Stroud.

"It's something I have done for quite a while. I suppose you could call it my main hobby."

The house is complete with replica fireplace and stairs (Image: Archant)

Predominantly made of MDF, the dolls house consists of three floors with each forming a room to be played in.

Whilst his latest design came from a dolls house book, Mr Stroud said that was not always the case and that he often found inspiration for his creations all around him.

Robin Stroud's hand crafted dolls house (Image: Archant)

"I get inspiration from places me and my wife have been," said Mr Stroud.

"She has caught me pacing outside buildings. I am making guesses on how big it is."

By roughly guessing how big certain buildings are he can scale them down to a much smaller level and turn them into his intricate designs.

One of his past achievements was a model of the historic Great Dixter House in Sussex.

Asked how long his creations take, Mr Stroud admits he is not entirely sure.

"It could take six to eight months," said Mr Stroud.

"Sometimes I do a couple of hours at once but it might be more time before I am in the mood again."

Mr Stroud did keep a tally of how many hours he spent on a previous project, and that dolls house clocked in at a whopping 812 man hours.

The piece he is auctioning off was started back in June last year.

Robin paces outside houses to get an idea of scale for his replicas (Image: Archant)

Those wishing to buy Mr Stroud's creation can do so by emailing him with a bid for the piece at robin195860@yahoo.co.uk.