In the Whitby Museum costume collection we have a black wedding dress dated 1874. The dress has been painstakingly conserved within the last few years kindly funded by the TWV Roe Trust. A specially commissioned mannequin for storage and display was also constructed to take into account it’s 18inch waist!
The dress was worn by Mrs M Gardener of Kingston Upon Hull, she was in mourning for her father who died a month before the wedding. The marriage couldn’t be postponed due to the fact that the newly married couple were travelling to India. Her dress was recreated in black satin, is heavily beaded and would have been worn with a full length black veil.
Photos by Mike Shaw
