Alex Parsons and her husband Tony are two of our newest members.  Alex has a collection of period prams that is quite unique and attracts a lot of attention when she brings them to our events.  She even restores them herself.  Here, Alex tells us about her collection:

I started collecting prams in 2003 just for show in the house we have. I started with a Silvercross Regent Dolls Pram. Then we decided to try for a baby two years ago and wanted a vintage baby pram: one that would turn heads.  So we travelled from Nottinghamshire to Kent to pick up a beautiful 1950 Swallow. I sold this on for personal reasons but realised I had a love for old fashioned prams - so Tony told me to buy another as I was upset I had parted with it.   (I bet now he wishes he had kept his mouth shut!)

I love the old fashioned shape of period prams; the quality and the comfort these prams give. How many of today's prams and pushchairs will be around in 60 years? The craftsmanship is breathtakingly beautiful in my eyes. Like a vintage car! I wanted to collect more.

Restoring prams:

I started to do the odd small repair job just to make them more cosmetically appealing. I then went to Stoke to buy a 1950 Marmet, followed by a 1940 old, battered Silvercross that was in need of a complete overhaul. This one I decided I would have a good go at. Here is what I had to do:

• I stripped it down to the bare basic shell. I had to use a mask as the older prams had lead paint coverings.

• I then painfully & slowly resprayed it Black, layer after layer.

• The chrome on most is often Shot.  This is expensive to correct, so I leave it as it is  (chrome paint looks cheap and nasty on).

• Often these prams have horse hair fillings which I take out as they are full of vintage dust, muck and germs. The mouldy smell is often caused by the horse hair filling getting damp.

• The hoods and aprons are nearly always frayed, ripped or broken.  These, too, are not easy to replace. I had a number of goes, but have yet to perfect this to the standard I would like.

• I had newer but vintage tyres put on and painted the wheel rims Black & Silver.

• Leather support straps were made by a local cobbler.

I would never part with this one as such a lot of dedication and hard work went into it.

Just the time spent basically cleaning up old prams is hard work, as there is often 50 to 60 years worth of grease, dirt and scratches on them. To restore a pram fully takes hundreds of pounds. As they were coach built made in factories, a lot of the work was professionally done. Restoration often looks easy, but on trying, proves very difficult. So I basically I clean and touch up the prams and pushchairs so they look cosmetically good for re-enactment purposes. I do get some prams and pushchairs that hardly need much doing to them at all.

Although not to today's British Safety Standards I would put a baby in these prams as I feel they are safe to use. I'm not a professional at this so keep my prices affordable, e.g. a professionally restored 1940 pram was sold for £3,500 to Harrods in early 2008.

The prams I currently own: