One of the best kept secrets of the National Trust is the spectacular costume collection at Springhill, near Moneymore, Ireland.
Experts at the National Trust’s textile conservation studio at Blickling Hall near Norwich carried out the meticulous restoration of the 12 costumes from Springhill, part of the 'Ages of Elegance' exhibition.
The pieces span two centuries, and provide an opportunity to see styles of dress and unusual and beautiful decoration that is rarely available in Ireland.
Each costume has its own special tale to tell, explains Helen McAneney, National Trust Costume Curator at Springhill:
'The fabulous "milkmaid" style Polonaise dress from the 1760s has panels inserted in the back, perhaps because the original owner was smaller than a later wearer. That’s quite important to the history of the costume and we wouldn’t remove the panel as it has become part of the history of this piece.
'My favourite costume is a beetle wing embroidered dress from 1856, decorated with silver gilt thread and nearly a thousand beetle wings. Using beetle wings for decoration was not uncommon during the Victorian era, and restoring this piece was a particular challenge for the experts.'
Beetle wing embroidered dress
The conservators consulted beetle specialists and identified that the wings were those of the Indian jewel beetle. Replicas were made with lacquered Japanese tissue paper and each wing was stitched onto the dress in its original position.
© NTPL / Jacqui Hurst
The Heritage Lottery Fund
In addition to restoring and conserving the 12 chosen costumes for future generations to enjoy, the Heritage Lottery Fund assisted with the creation of the exhibitions at Springhill House, and an exciting range of education activities and events for all ages and interests.
The costume collection, established in 1964, has grown into an exceptional range of pieces spanning from c1690 to the late 1970s.
The impressive collection provides a fascinating glimpse into social history with over 3,000 items of clothing, footwear and accessories. It is a truly unique collection in that every item has been donated, with a significant number coming from families in the north west of Ireland.
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