Many of the earliest dolls were made of wood – indeed even Roman children had wooden dolls. This one is a replica of an early English wooden doll, called a Bartholomew Baby. It is an accurate copy of a doll that would have been available in medieval and Tudor times. The name comes from the fair in London where they were sold, St Bartholomew’s Fair. 

It is a simply but beautifully carved doll with no arms and no joints, though some examples had arms of leather. They were sold painted and dressed in the fashions of the day. Wooden babies, as they were known, were not called 'dolls' until the 18th century.

St Bartholomew’s Fair was held in August every year from 1133 to 1855 in London in the area known as West Smithfield and was opened by the Lord Mayor of London. Over time the Fair developed a reputation as visitors to the Fair often had too much to drink and sometimes behaved badly – so there was a slang term, Bartholomew Baby, to indicate someone who was drunk and not behaving well.