The Story of Sister Mary Barbara’s Bunnykins

With Easter rapidly approaching, rabbits are making their annual appearance.  One of my all-time favorite rabbit designs is the Bunnykins line by Royal Doulton.  This pattern has been around since the 1930s. Bunnykins features a bevy of bunnies cavorting and cute, colorful artwork.. Its popularity exploded worldwide after it was adopted by the British royal family’s young daughters, princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.  It is still enjoyed by many today.   

Bunnykins were created by Barbara Vernon Bailey, aka Sister Mary Barbara, a Catholic nun.  Barbara’s father, Cuthbert Bailey, was the general manager of Doulton. Raised in the Shropshire countryside in England with her siblings, Miss Bailey began drawing and painting at a young age. Barbara loved animals and the family pets, farmyard animals, and wildlife around her, including rabbits, were her favorite subjects. Interestingly, she never received any formal training.  Who could have known at this time that her whimsical watercolors would someday launch a line that would charm the world for decades?

Barbara Bailey joined a convent as a nun at just 19 years of age and began to teach at the school there. Shortly after, her father recalled that as a child, Barbara had demonstrated a clever talent for sketching animals. He asked her to illustrate a new line of nursery ware. Although a busy teacher at her convent’s school, she received permission to create the artwork as long as it remained secret and did not interfere with her teaching duties, prayer and devotions. The convent’s prioress also stipulated that neither she nor the convent receive any monetary gain from her work, despite their financial need (they could not even afford electricity!).

The beloved pieces Sister Mary Barbara created featured rabbits and other animals having fun in every day activities, such as eating ice cream, building sand castles, baking with mother bunny, having a picnic, fishing, reading bedtime stories, and other real life activities that children enjoy.  The earliest pieces, created in the 1930s, were often signed “Barbara Vernon”, and these pieces are the most valuable.  Bunnykins pieces also include figurines, ornaments, banks, etc. As a teacher, Sister Mary Barbara loved helping children learn and grow.  She stated that her idea for placing pictures at the bottom of her bowls was to “encourage young children to finish their morning meal”. 

Fun facts about Bunnykins china:

1. On early pieces, religious references may be found, for example, early mother bunnies often wore blue in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
2. Sister Mary Barbara sketched all her bunny scenes by candlelight, either late at night or very early in the morning. It was not just a question of having no electricity. She also was honoring her commitment to the convent to complete all her duties as a nun and teacher. Perhaps this is where the phrase “burning the candle at both ends” comes from?
3. Early father bunnies were based on Sister Mary Barbara’s father, often wearing round spectacles and holding a pipe, just as he did in real life. 

For more infomation on Bunnykins and Royal Doulton, see Antiques, Royal Doulton,  and Barbara Vernon Bailey.  You may also enjoy The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Royal Doulton Bunnykins by Jean Dale and Louise Irvine.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I hope you enjoyed learning about Sister Mary Barbara and Bunnykins.  You may also enjoy my other posts My Favorite Easter Baskets of 2021, and Rabbit Romance: My Love Affair With Bunnies.  Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and a very happy Easter!