In 1760 William Hamley founded a toy shop called “Noah’s Ark”. It was initially located in High Holborn, but as the shop grew increasingly popular it was re-located in Regent Street.

Not only dedicated to toys, over the years the business has also been closely associated with new games. For example a new game called Cossima was invented here, better known today as Ping Pong!

Today Hamley’s is one of the biggest toy stores in the world - with five floors and tens of thousands of toys and games. It is especially popular at Christmas, when it is renowned for its wonderful window displays.