I love the Harry Potter movies and Diagon Alley is such a great set. I wanted to do one in quarter scale but it had to be my own so...the Wandlyn Way was born.
The Story of the Wandlyn Way
According to legend the Wandlyn Way was developed by
Percival Penrose.
Percival Penrose
descended from a long line of wizards in England but he wanted to see more of
the world. In 1820 he immigrated to North America and after living in a log
cabin for several months he decided that roughing it in the bush was not for
him. He purchased a property in a small courtyard in the market area of the new
Bytown and built an inn that reminded him of home. The Hole in the Wall was a Tudor styled building
and attracted mainly lumberjacks and stonemasons at first but slowly word of his
roots spread and those with a magical aptitude started patronizing the pub. As
the wizard population increased in this new land he realized that they needed
the same special items that had been available in England. Being a shrewd
entrepreneur he established the Wandlyn Way in a hidden alley behind his Inn.
The 
The Hedge Witch
#1 Wandlyn Way.
Herbalia Gardner~ proprietor
A hedge witch from Shropshire opened
the first shop in 1825. Geraldine Gardiner delighted in discovering new herbs
and fungi in the vast surrounding forests. She had also brought with her seeds
and cuttings from many of the plants that had grown in the garden back in
England. The shop is now run by her great great great granddaughter Herbalia
and continues to supply a wondrous selection of plants and garden necessities.
Leaden Gold
Alchemist & Apothecary
The ‘Great’ Leaden Gold prop.
Est.
1828
Once customers starting wandering into the
tiny alley behind the Hole in the Wall, it became clear that there was need for
magical supplies and one man appeared from nowhere to fill the need. He
introduced himself as the “Great” Leaden Gold, ‘world renowned purveyor of
superior sorcery supplies’. No one had ever heard of him but anyone new to town
was a welcome diversion.
His servant was seen late at night unloading
heavy sacks from his wagon and it was rumoured that they
were actually sacks and sacks of gold coins. Leaden hired the skilled stone
masons that were working on the Rideau Canal to build him a fine stone
building. He was most definite that the building be strong and able to
withstand earthquakes or other strong forces. As soon as it was finished, a
steady stream of wagons, caravans and the occasional handcart started appearing
in front of the building. Interesting packages and barrels were trundled
inside. The shop opened in time for the summer solstice with a wide variety of
rare and fascinating chemicals and ingredients for all manner of potions and
spells. The proprietor perched on a high stool behind the counter and wrote orders into a large red ledger book while his servant ran back and forth and climbed up and down measuring quantities and wrapping packages which he carefully piled on the long counter. Gold gracefully presented the wrapped packages to his customers and gently dropped each payment into a large metal box.
The first day of business, the line of customers snaked out the door and down the alley. Even the lumberjacks in the bar were amazed at the number of people who immediately headed out to the outhouse behind the pub with barely a nod at those sitting at the pub tables. They soon put it down to a bad case of food poisoning and the cook house next door saw a disturbing drop in their sales for several days.
By the end of that first day, the shelves were nearly bare and the Leaden Gold Alchemist and Apothecary Shop was an established part of the Wandlyn Way.
The Great Gold, himself, stood only 4 feet tall but he still aspired to a more impressive appearance. His towering gold hat increased his height to nearly seven feet and a multitude of bells and charms hung on every part of his robes. The noise generated as he jangled and jingled down the alley caught everyone’s attention and they stood aside to see what was causing the commotion. The Great Gold trotted importantly down the open middle of the street bowing and nodding to those lining the Way as if it was his due. He completely missed the grins and giggles that followed his progress.
His hulking manservant was truly seven feet tall and usually followed stoically behind the tiny man gathering up any bells or doodads that dropped from the jingling robes and lugging an assortment of bags boxes and barrels for the shop.
Although
no one had ever found even one person who had heard of ’The Great Gold’, the
wizards of Bytown and the surrounding hills enthusiastically welcomed the
amusing little man. They flocked to his shop to purchase their magical
supplies, such as dragons blood and toad warts, and they delighted in the
strange and wonderful machines he invented in his workshop. The fact that none
of them did anything useful did not reduce the pure pleasure of discussing
‘crazy little Gold’s’ latest invention around a pub table during the long
winter nights. The occasional booming
explosion or dish that rattled off the shelf only added to the entertainment as
far as the community was concerned. The lumberjacks put the noise and vibration down to trees falling or work on the canal.
The shop has changed hands over the years and no longer is owned by the Gold family. In fact Gold himself disappeared not long after the shop opened. His caravan was last seen racing down the valley with his manservant running desperately after it. There were hints that the gold coins used to pay the stonemasons who built the shop and the suppliers who filled it had slowly turned into dull lumps of lead but no one would admit to having been caught in such a scam and only a few strange grey metal souvenirs circulated through the community and eventually found their way into tackle boxes
Wands &
Incantations
TobiasBartholomew prop.
Est.
1828
The
castle like edifice of Leaden Gold ~ Alchemist simply cried out for a tower and
Tobias Bartholomew soon proposed to add just that adornment. The great houses
of parliament boasted such towers and it was easy to convince the stone masons
to add a similar smaller structure in the Wandlyn Way. Tobias thought it was an appropriate shape
for a shop that specialized in wands.
The forest that supplied some of the Hedge Witch’s newest botanical
experiments also provided an unending variety of wood for creating wands that
were particularly attuned to this new wizard world. Strong oak, supple birch,
traditional rowan and the new sugar maple as well as heart pine and black
walnut all found their way into his workshop where they were transformed into
unique wands ready to claim their one soul mate. Tobias was a tiny man himself but
he wielded a sturdy oak wand nearly his own size. When he began to carve a wand
his talented hands were as delicate as a butterfly and coaxed fine intricate
designs from the wood. Unicorns were
plentiful in the wild woods but newer animals also contributed magical cores for
the wands. Often the totems of a Native Shaman would appear in the workroom and
regally offer a hair, feather or a whisker before vanishing. Mountain cougar,
Artic Fox, Black Bear and Eagle slipped into the workroom and offered a unique
bond for special wands. Tobias welcomed
them all with a smile. The great polar bear did cause a bit of consternation as
he tried to manoeuver in the small shop but he was still very welcome. Inevitably
these unexpected additions to the inventory would be just the one required by
the next customer and so the magic of the Old World melded into that of this
strange new land.
To be continued.........
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