Novelty Automation
A small Holborn arcade of handmade satirical machines built by a single inventor, playable with tokens bought on site.
- Hidden gem
- Price: Free
Open in A Reason to StopFree on the App Store. iPhone, iOS 26 or later.
Did you know
Every machine in the arcade was designed and built by hand by engineer and cartoonist Tim Hunkin, whose earlier automata for a Suffolk seaside pier inspired the shop's move into central London.
Local tip
Bring cash or card to buy tokens at the counter, since the machines don't take coins directly, and check opening days before visiting, as it's closed Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday.
Finding it
- Address
- 1a, Princeton Street, Holborn, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England, WC1R 4AX
- Nearest station
- Chancery Lane (Tube), 317 m away
Details change, so check with the place before you set off.
More places nearby
- Sir John Soane's MuseumThe architect's own house, left exactly as it was in 1837. Crammed floor to ceiling with antiquities, paintings, and architectural curiosities.
- The Ship TavernA 500-year-old Holborn pub tucked down a passage near Lincoln's Inn Fields, reputedly once a hiding place for outlawed Catholic priests.
- Catalyst Coffee RoastersA coffee roaster and café on a corner of Gray's Inn Road in Holborn, roasting and grinding its own beans on site since 2016.
- The DukeA Grade II-listed 1930s Art Deco pub on a quiet Bloomsbury backstreet, with original lino, period mirrors and a rear room of open timber-and-reeded-glass drinking booths.