About Peggy Nisbet

A short Biography

Peggy Nisbet, (nee Peacock), was born in Bristol in 1909 and moved with her widowed mother to Weston-super-Mare when only a few months old.   Peggy was educated at La Retraite Convent in Weston, and later, in France.   Her education finished, Peggy took a job as a secretary at Weston-super-Mare Town Hall.   She lived in Weston until 1929, then moved to London to work as a secretary with the London Omnibus Company.   When the company was reorganised as London Transport, Peggy became secretary to the Chairman, Lord Ashfield.

In 1934, Peggy married William (Bill) Nisbet, an accountant.   In 1939, at the outbreak of World War Two, the Nisbets moved back to Weston-super-Mare, where Peggy became the first lady cashier to work at Barclays'  Bank.   In 1952, Peggy started to make dolls, supported by her husband, who remained committed to the business until his death in 1959.

In those early days, Peggy designed the dolls and her Aunt Kitty, (an able seamstress), made the prototypes.   Peggy made figures dressed in national costumes, historical costumes and dressed as famous historical figures.   Through exhibiting at toy fairs in Britain and America the demand for Peggy Nisbet dolls grew.   One of Peggy's strengths was her talent in research - each costume and character was designed with great accuracy; there was wide variety ‑ from Henry VIII and his six wives, to Tutankhamen, and the doorman at Harrods.   Later, Peggy regularly attended collectors' conventions in America, which further promoted the dolls.   Collectors worldwide would eagerly wait to see the new dolls produced by the House of Nisbet.   At its height, the House of Nisbet was the second largest doll manufacturer in Britain.   The success of the business was entirely due to the enthusiasm and drive of Peggy.   In 1979 Peggy was awarded the MBE for her services to export trade - a fitting tribute to someone who put Weston-super-Mare on the map, especially in America.

Peggy Nisbet died on 9th October 1995, aged 86.   Tributes poured in from all over the world, and especially from within the doll making industry, and collectors worldwide mourned the passing of England’s premier dollmaker.   It is fitting that her dolls still remain as collectable as ever.   

The memory of Peggy Nisbet lives on.

News

21st September 2023

 

Important Announcement

 

My dear wife, Christine, passed away on the 8th December, 2021after 8 weeks in hospital. I was by her side, when she slipped away from me peacefully, with no pain or suffering.

 

Chris had been struggling with a slow decline in health, associated with a progressive, untreatable, and ultimately terminal lung disease, and finally succumbed to her old adversary, Pneumonia.

 

We had been friends for 55 years, together as a couple for 50 years, and married just a month short of 48 years, when she died.   

 

This website was Chris's idea, and I did all the technical stuff, to make it work.   After news of Chris's passing reached her close friends in the doll collecting world, I was deeply touched and gratified to hear their tributes to my dear wife, and I must thank them all for their kindness and support.   Ultimately, it was her doll friends that gave me the courage to continue with the website.

 

In the months before her eventual hospitalisation, Chris had outlined a number of additions and changes she wanted to make to the website, and it is my intention to honour those wishes, and to implement the changes we had considered, over the coming weeks and months.

 

I must apologise to all those who have written to us via the website, only to have your emails go unanswered.   Unfortunately, the email system had been hacked aroung the time Chris was going into hospital, and many emails must have been lost, as a result.

 

As you might imagine, I felt completely broken by Chris's loss, and it is only now, almost 22 months after her passing, that I have felt strong enough to even look at the website again.   

 

My aim is to continue with the website, and to implement Chris's aims for her many new ideas as soon as I can.   In the meantime, I have hopefully got the email system sorted out, and I will attempt to answer any enquiries as soon as I can, and to send replies with the same high degree of accuracy that a reply from Chris would have had.

 

From now on, I will be flying solo, whilst my co-pilot and guide will be soaring much higher, (though she is always in my heart, and in my thoughts).

 

My thanks to all our website visitors for your continued support

 

Dave (also known as Arthur), and Chris, (my lost love, Guinevere)

 

Christine Poulten

25th December 1949 - 8th December 2021