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Writer's pictureDave Goble

Modelmaker Extraordinaire

Updated: Jan 2, 2021

”Idiot Genius of Earlswood Asylum" James Henry Pullen, (1835-1916), created these remarkable models, among others. They can be found in Langdon Down Museum at Normansfield, in Teddington.

The State Barge Built 1866

Pullen perceived this as a vessel from which Queen Victoria could rule her empire. Built in 1866, its hull is made of ebony, cosmic forces are represented on the exterior, ivory angels are in the prow with Satan subdued in the stern. The ivory came from tusks sent to Pullen by his patron, Edward VII.



The S.S. Great Eastern Built 1870-77

Widely regarded as his masterpiece, Pullen built a ten-foot long replica of Brunel's SS Great Britain Eastern. Started in 1870 it took him seven years to complete, during which he made his own tools and equipment to enable him to make every part of the model himself. He devised a system of pulleys to lift the entire upper deck to display the interior, with other details including 5,585 rivets, thirteen lifeboats and miniature interior furniture. In its maiden voyage the model ship unfortunately sank for lack of buoyancy. Pullen repaired that flaw later. The model was exhibited in at the Crystal Palace Exhibition and gained several certificates. Pullen himself attended to explain the detail. It was also shown at the Fisheries Exhibition in 1883.


Giant Made with wood c. 1870s

Inspired by a small model of a Prussian soldier at an exhibition, Pullen created his giant - a carnival figure nearly fifteen feet high. Made to amuse the children, he was taken out each fete day until the Second World War. He has a hollow body in which a small person can stand and operate levers which cause his eyes to open, his tongue to protrude, his mouth to open, his ears to waggle and his arms to move up and down. His head revolves, and he used to make a roaring noise.


Pullen at work. Records depict him as alternatively aggressive or sullen. He could be reserved, but also wrecked his workshop once in a fit of anger. He didn't like to accept advice, and wanted to have his own way. Apparently he once took a dislike to a certain member of staff and built a guillotine-like contraption over his door. Luckily for the target, it went off too late.


Before leaving Langdon Down Museum I wanted to share a photograph of the beautiful little theatre there:

Normansfield Theatre is Grade II listed, and was built originally as an entertainment hall in 1877 and completed in 1879. It is a rare example of a private Victorian theatre containing original painted scenery and other ornate fixtures and fittings. It is a popular filming location, and has been used for Agatha Christie's Poirot, the 2009 film Dorian Gary and the TV series Downton Abbey.


The Theatre / Entertainment Hall was built by Victorian Physician Dr John Langdon Down, who established Normansfield in 1868 as a family home and a place where people with learning disabilities could be cared for and educated at a time when most of them would have been condemned to life in an asylum. He encouraged his patients/students to learn music and drama as part of their education, and provided work experience in woodwork and farming in a way that was probably more advanced than some of the provision available today. Some of his students had the condition that now bears his name and he is known internationally as the ‘Father of Down’s syndrome’. His wife Mary was also hugely influential.

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