Val Ripley, aged 101, continues to welcome visitors and school groups to the Ty Twt Dolls House and Toy Museum in Newport, Pembrokeshire. She co-founded the museum with her sister Pam 26 years ago, after they rediscovered their childhood toys in their parents' attic following their mother's death in 1977.
Val received her first dolls' house in Christmas 1932 when she was eight. The family's possessions, including the dolls' house, were put into storage in 1939 when Val's father re-joined the Army, and the toys remained in the attic for decades until their rediscovery.
The museum's collection includes a house from 1840, which Val states represents a typical home of a wealthy family during the early Victorian period. She notes that dolls' houses became children's toys around this time, following the Industrial Revolution which made them more accessible and sturdy for play.