Date/Time
Date(s) - Wednesday, 26 August, 2015 - Sunday, 27 September, 2015
12:00 am
Location
Eskbank House & Museum
Categories
26 August – 27 September 2015
The Feathers, Furs and Wedding Dresses exhibition features a variety of clothing, accessories and other textiles from the Eskbank House collection. Along with all the beautiful and delicate children’s, women’s and men’s clothing, is an unusual collection of fur and feather items that show the glamourous side of life in Lithgow.
The feature of this exhibition though is undoubtedly the wedding gown of Miss Ida Mary Grey. Miss Grey, the granddaughter of Mr William Grey, was married to Mr John Ashley on Wednesday 26 August 1905 in St Paul’s Church of England, Lithgow.
The Lithgow Mercury reported that:
“The bride’s dress, which was most tastefully made, was much
admired. It consisted of white ivory silk, silk chiffon, appliqué and silk
ruchings. She wore a rich veil and coronet of orange blossoms, and
carried a shower bouquet.”
(Lithgow Mercury, Friday 28 August 1905)
Mrs Laurel Cameron (great, great, great granddaughter of William Grey) was very excited to hear the dress was once again on display. She tells the story of how the dress arrived at Eskbank House.
“Ida’s daughter Beryl Ashley kept it for close to 50 years and
passed it on to her cousin Marion Mathieson (nee Bellamy). I was
having lunch with Marion back in 1988 and she mentioned that she
had looked after Beryl when she was in a nursing home in Sydney.
She told me she had this wedding dress and had no one to pass
it on to and thought that the Lithgow Historical Society may be
interested in it – and would probably be able to preserve it.
Marion passed away in 2005 and she would be absolutely
thrilled to think it has once again come to life in a Lithgow exhibition.”
(Mrs Laurel Cameron)
The Eskbank Team are researching these items during the exhibition to find out their stories, so when you visit, if you realise you have information on where an item comes from or how it was made, let the staff know so they can record it.