When I was a very little girl – let’s say five or six – I was mummy to a Tiny Tears doll and my ultimate dream was to have a ‘proper pram’ to wheel about the neighbourhood. Months of mooning around in the toy department finally paid off. On Christmas morning 1979 – there it was. A black Silver Cross pram complete with lacy pillows, fold-down hood and a plastic cover with poppers.
The only problem was it wasn’t a doll’s pram. It was a ‘proper pram’ for real-life babies and it was the size of a battleship. As a very little girl, I could hardly push it. In fact, I could have jumped into myself and let my bossy older sister push me around Waltham, a suburb of glamorous Grimsby. One afternoon, I headed off with my metal pram oblivious to the gathering storm. I didn’t even notice the fork lightning, it was only the appearance of my sister – looking uncharacteristically worried – that alerted me to the fact that every adult in Waltham was on the ‘war path’. I shouldn’t have been out on my own; never mind in a storm carrying a gigantic lightening conductor on wheels.
The pram was deemed too big and – to the accompaniment of far from tiny tears – it was sold on and I had to make do with a doll’s kitchen as a substitute. It’s just one of the many childhood traumas I carry close to my heart.
I have been a little obsessed with prams since buying a couple of at auction in an attempt to heal my childhood pain (not really – I just like pretty vintage things). The purchase led to a panic-stricken plea to The Essex Vintage Pram Group led by the wonderfully knowledgeable Angie Wilson. In my haste to buy I hadn’t noticed that, in addition to very wonky wheels, the larger of my two 1930s prams didn’t even have a handle. A few supportive messages from pram group members later and I have sent my beauty to a handy man who will nurse it back to life.
I have also become a vintage pram addict.
Who cares? I am in very good company. Never mind the good ladies of Essex; the Duchess of Cambridge almost single-handedly boosted the trade in vintage prams when she wheeled Princess Charlotte to her christening ceremony in a silver wheeled Millson Prince (the Rolls Royce of the vintage prams world according to collectors).
The resulting pictures led to a four-month waiting list for similar prams and to countless threads on ‘Mumsnet’ asking if vintage prams were the coolest things on wheels. Advantages – ‘people get out your way’ ‘they are very much admired by old ladies’ and ‘great for getting babies to sleep’. Disadvantages – ‘it would not fit through the front door’ ‘it was not easy to get in and out of the car/lift/bus’ and ‘I became known the woman with the PRAM’.
The great thing about the Mumsnet generation is they can mix and match; a vintage pram for ‘selfies’ or ‘prammies’ and a modern buggy which folds down into the size of a matchbox for school runs and car journeys. This was a privilege denied to the ‘Call the Midwife’ generation who had to leave baby Jane outside the butchers because the beautiful Silver Cross ‘Balamoral’ wouldn’t fit through the door. Funnily enough, it’s the babies who were in those perambulators who are often keen to rescue and restore these heirlooms for future generations.
People like Carolyn and Scott Frew of Ayr, who run bespoke pram restoration service Prams with Pizazz. It started when one of her five children, Elise, wanted a doll’s pram with black spots.
“I couldn’t find one so bought an old pram that needed a lot of work. I got my spanners out, stripped it down, made the hood and apron, re-sprayed it, sorted the wheels and put it all back together,” explains Carolyn.
“When I put the pictures on Facebook people loved them. I launched the business when friends, new mums and collectors started ordering full-size prams. Five years on and we send prams all over the world and to TV production companies.”
Angie Wilson, who now runs ten Facebook groups relating to everything pram including The Essex Vintage Pram Group, is not surprised by this up-surge in interest which has been fuelled by enthusiasts sharing pictures on social media.
“Prams groups have been around for many years. The first ones were forums on websites and you had to be introduced into the fold before you were given the recognised status of ‘Prammie’,” Angie laughs.
“It was all very cloak and dagger and the secrets of how to restore weren’t shared freely. Facebook groups appeared and, over many years, they have moved into sharing, helping and giving advice on restoring. I believe some of the old-school pram ladies weren’t too happy about this.”
The good news is that Angie and her members are very happy to share their knowledge which takes much of the guess-work out of gaining your own Prammie status. You can contact the group for anything from what model you have to how to restore it; some of the members can even take on the work for you.
“I’m self-taught – learning from the mistakes along the way,” Angie explains.
“When I joined my first group, Vintage Baby Sales, I was very shy. I watched and took notes and spent many hours researching prams. As my confidence grew, I started taking part. I was proud some years ago to be asked by the lady who ran it to help her with the admin’ and now I’ve graduated to running the group. Over the years, I have learned so much about coach-built prams and I am more than happy to help others.”
While my own little dolls pram is under-going restoration; I am going to present the very potted history of perambulators with the help of ten pram-tastic owners.
Just click on the link for part two.
Also; The Sweet Shop’s Classic Car Show and Pram Walk takes place on on Sunday 22nd July at Minster Leas on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
