COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS

It's been a pretty hectic week but not as hectic as the next four that are coming up!  However, they are going to be extremely exciting and interesting and I am really looking forward to them.

Tomorrow I am attending another course which will teach me how to video and record and then to edit the material.  The equipment I need arrived last week so it has been rather 'interesting' getting to grips with it but it will be put to good use over the coming weeks.

On Thursday 1 July, the judging of the 'A Designer Dress for a Doddington Wedding' takes place in the Great Hall.  The judges will be myself, Kathy Gaul, a lecturer in Fashion at the University of Lincoln and Caroline Chamberlain http://www.carolinechamberlain.co.uk/, who is a wonderful local dress designer/maker, based at Burton Waters near Lincoln.  Caroline will be showing some of her stunning creations at the exhibition - she was also involved in the making of the Lincolnshire Longwool dress.  We shall be announcing the  winner of the competition on Monday 5 July.

I have had some stunning entries - the majority of them are now at the Hall but I have a few sitting on my dining room table and I just can't resist looking at them every now and then.  I know it is going to be a hard choice for us to decide on the winner.

Friday takes me to Leicestershire to collect a dress belonging to a lady called Kiki Everard.  Now this is quite spooky, as when I was in the Army and based at MOD, I worked alongside her brother-in-law, James.  He was a Captain then but she tells me he is now a Major General!!!  Yesterday, I called to arrange collection of the dress and spoke to James' brother, Nick, .... it was totally weird as it sounded as though I was speaking to James ...... still trying to get over the experience.

Next Tuesday (6 July), I am off to Beamish http://www.beamish.org.uk/ to collect two amazing dresses.  Kate Reader, the Keeper of Social History at the Museum, has been a great help and I can't thank her enough for agreeing to lend these two particular dresses.

The following week, I shall be visiting places like Belvoir Castle http://www.belvoircastle.com/ and Easton Walled Gardens http://www.eastonwalledgardens.co.uk/ to collect the dresses that have been kindly loaned by Her Grace The Duchess of Rutland and Lady Ursula Cholmeley.

I will keep you up-to-speed of my adventures as I travel around the countryside.

Do visit the Blog on Monday 5 July to hear who the lucky winner of the competition is.  It will be extremely hard for me to keep the news secret for four days.

VISIT BY BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL

On Monday 21 June, 20 or so delightful girls from Boston High School, accompanied by three wonderful teachers (Mrs Stubbs, Mrs Anderson and Miss Davidson) descended on Doddington to gain inspiration for their own personal entry in our 'A Designer Dress for a Doddington Wedding' Competition.  The weather was extremely hot outside so the cool of the Hall was very inviting.

However, there was a huge obstacle in the way:  another school visit.  60 or so primary school children to avoid is not an easy thing to do ... but somehow I managed it.

I started off by giving the students a brief history on the Hall and then took them round each of the rooms - there is a lot at Doddington to gain inspiration from whether it be textiles or wall paper.  I also made them think about lots of obstacles in the Hall that could make life difficult for the bride who had to wear the dress that they designed. 

All of the students who were part of the visit were studying Design and Techonology and quite a few of them wanted to go onto study fashion in some form or another at University.  I spent a lot of time in the company of Francesca and Mina - they were both very inspirational.  Francesca was born to 'be' in fashion ... she was wearing an extremely cool T shirt with an amazing quote by Coco Chanel ... so brilliant I can't remember what it was!!!

During lunch a brought a few of the dresses that will be in the exhibition into the garden for the students to have a look at and perhaps take inspiration from.  Two of the dresses are shown below:  the heavily decorated dress designed and made by Angela Vickers was a huge hit.  I also showed the students the Elizabethan dress (also designed and made by Angela Vickers) as earlier on that day when we were in the Drawing Room of the Hall, I had shown them a sculpture of an Eizabethan collar - the dress also had a very similar collar. 

The students were absolutely amazed by the difference in size of the dress belonging to Vicky Jarvis, the current owner of the Hall's mother - many of the students actually thought it had been made for a child.  The dress was worn in the 1960s whilst the others are modern from around 2000 and was made by Hardy Amies.

There was lots of humurous moments in the tour but one stands out: I turned round to explain a dress and all I could see were three bottoms sticking out from under a dress .. obviously very eager students who needed to see the construction of the petticoats and hoops.  I have saved the ladies' dignity and will not publishing it!

The students left around 2 pm as they were very eager to get home to work on their designs.  All of the designs will be with me by Monday 28 July and judging of the competition will take place on 1 July.  The winner will be announced on 5 July.  

I shall inform you of the lucky winner in due course. 

I have just over 5 weeks to bring everything together for the exhibition and I don't think 5 weeks is enough! 

I've had a real problem remembering what I have been up to since I last updated you on 9 June!  So I reached for my diary and had a look over the last seven days and here's what I have been up to (thank goodness for diaries ..my whole life would fall apart without one ... I can't control my hair so I have no hope of controlling my life!).

I have been doing the usual things like sending emails, taking telephone calls and picking up dresses but one job that I had to complete was our funding application to Lincolnshire County Council.  There is a lot riding on this application and we won't hear the result until Monday 19 July!!!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhh.  We have to start setting up on 26 July so you will appreciate that I have had to put a Plan B into action.  So rest assured, if we receive the grant funding, you won't hear a lot from me apart from groans and screams of agony between 19 and 26 July as I shall be chasing my tail. 

I have been banging on about a 'special dress' which I hoped I would be able to tell you about by now but you will have to wait a little longer ..... 19 July to be exact.  I will tell you 'what dress' whether we get funding or not. 

Last Monday, I went to collect two dresses but before that myself, Amy Claridge (Doddington's Press Officer) and Claire Birch, the owner of the Hall had great fun photographing some of the dresses - well Amy and Claire had great fun ... I was treated like a wardrobe mistress!  The dresses photographed were an Elizabethan dress which had been designed and made by Angela Vickers (http://www.angela-vickers.co.uk/), a Hardy Amies designed dress belonging to Vicky Jarvis (Claire's mother), Claire's own dress and a dress belonging to Emma Milligan-Manby which was designed by Caroline Parker - Caroline will be contributing to the exhibition too.  Claire was married to her husband James on 12 July 1986 ..... the dress still fits!   It really is a simple and stunning dress made of cream taffeta.  It was made by Angela Holmes of Droopy and Brown who, I think, are/were based in York.  You will be able to see Claire's dress which will be shown alongside her mother's dress (shown on the left) as well as her two sisters', Katharine and Sophie ... how stunning will it be to have these four dresses on show together.

Claire Birch with Emma Milligan-Manby's dress and

the Elizabethan styled dress by Angela Vickers

Claire with her Mother's dress

The first dress that I collected belongs to a wonderful lady called Pam Withers who made her own dress for her wedding in 1960.  It is made of pink brocade and has a wonderful matching veil and headress.  Unfortunately, the winkle picker shoes that she wore were given to the Salvation Army (I think).  Pam was a tonic after such a hectic week.  Her dress is now safely at the Hall and I will be there to take some photos tomorrow. 

After collecting Pam's dress, I went to Eagle (a village about 2 miles from Doddington Hall) to meet Mrs Bushell - she is the lady I mentioned in my last update who rang me out of the blue enquire whether I would like to have her dress for the exhibition.    Again, another wonderful lady with a wonderful dress and the original pattern for the dress.  The spooky thing is that the material is nearly identical to that of Pam's dress.  

I didn't take that dress away with me, as Mrs Bushell is going to pop it over to the Hall when we are setting up.... it's wonderful when people want to be involved in the setting up process...... they get to appreciate  the chaos behind the scenes and, belive me, there will be chaos. 

The photograph on the left shows the happy couple immediately after their wedding at Southwell Minster.  Whilst the one below shows Mrs Bushell arriving at the Minster on the arm of her father.  She told me that she could tell her father was very emotional by the look on his face.  My favourite thing about this photo is the fact that her father is carrying a Bowler hat.

On Tuesday, I was attending another training workshop - the very last one before I am allowed out on my own to record and video the masses.  The equipment I need to do this, arrived at the Hall on Wednesday and I have spent the last few days working out how to use it because ..... TOMORROW I HAVE 20 ODD STUDENTS FROM BOSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL VISITING THE HALL AS THEY ARE TARKING PART IN THE WEDDING DRESS COMPETITION ..... no sleep for me tonight.    I am really looking forward to the visit because it means that things are starting to fall into place.

After finishing the blog, I will need to plan the visit as well as thinking about what I will be photographing, videoing and recording.  Mark Ellis from Sound Delivery expect a phone call sometime tomorrow evening or early Tuesday morning.

Next week it is a varied and busy week - I am especially looking forward to the school visit tomorrow.

EXTREME RECYCLING

You may or may not be familiar with the book '101 Uses for a Dead Cat' which is an extremely funny book ... before you ask ... yes I adore cats!

Yesterday whilst attending a training workshop, Mark Ellis from Sound Delivery (http://www.sounddelivery.org.uk/), who is trying very hard to teach those attending (especially me) the basics of editing audio and video footage, told me of a blog a guy called Kevin Cotter had written which all began with his wife’s departure after they’d been together 17 years, ever since their senior year in high school. She took all of her belongings when she moved out of their Tucson, Arizona, home, with one exception. In her former section of their walk-in closet, she left her wedding keepsake box.

“You forgot something,” Cotter recalls telling her.

“And what’s that?” she replied.

“Your wedding dress.”

“Yeah, I’m not taking that.”

Cotter was dumbfounded.

“What do you expect me to do with it?”

“Do whatever you want with it,” she said before she drove away............. and that's exactly what he did.

To read the story in full visit http://myexwifesweddingdress.com/ ... it is absolutely hilarious.

So readers, have you done anything exciting or extreme with your wedding dress?  If so, do let me know and I will publish the stories on my blog..... look forward to hearing from you all.  I admit that I did something rather extreme with my first wedding dress ..... I shall tell you what it was if you let me have your stories.

Mad Moments, Two New Dresses and a Horse

I have already told you about the 'Design a Dress for a Doddington Wedding' competition that is being run alongside the exhibition, in an earlier post.  In the very early stages of planning of the exhibition I had one of my 'mad moments' and thought it would be a good idea to make a film about it i.e. the schools visit the Hall to gain inspiration for the dress, choosing the winning design and then the making up of the dress.  So, in the last few weeks I have been attending workshops to learn how to do this - I am attending another on Tuesday so that I can get even better or should I just say better!  I have ordered the equipment that I will need to do this and by the time I understand the instructions the exhibition will have been and gone. 

However, I do hope to produce a film that you will be able to watch when you visit the exhibition!

This morning I had a call out of the blue from a lady who lives about two miles from Doddington Hall.  She visited the Farmshop yesterday and picked up one of the leaflets and decided that she would like to lend her wedding dress to the exhibition.  I was thrilled - I have no idea what it looks like but I know that it is ballerina style and is decorated with Solomon Seal .... doesn't it sound lovely.  I shall have some photos to show you after my visit to meet the owner on 14 June.

Another wonderful dress that is going to be shown was worn by a bride who rode a horse to and from the church!  To show the dress it its best, I am busily trying to track down one of those model horses that you see in saddlers.  A friend is on the case .... when I discussed the idea with him, there was a huge pause on the other end of the phone.  Can't understand why..can you... I don't think it is such an unusual request.  I hope to have some pictures of ths wonderful dress for you soon.

I realise that I haven't told you about that 'special dress' and I won't be able to tell you now until about 16 June ... I shall tell you the whole story about why I can't say more then.  Sorry to keep you on tenterhooks.

My other big job this week is to decide what to choose form the vast collection which belongs to Lincolnshire County Council - there's so many to choose from and it is going to be very difficult for me to choose what to leave out. 

 

You May Lick the Bride

If you own a dog or perhaps even a couple of dogs, like me, I am sure, you will talk to them as though they were human - you know they will never answer you but you live in hope!

Whilst researching dresses for the exhibition I stumbled on a website called Urban Pup (http://www.urbanpup.com/) and discovered there was such things as wedding dresses/tuxedos for dogs. 

Dogs and cats have been dressed by humans for years (poor things) ... I used to dress my dog up and push it around the garden in my doll's pram when I was child and I am sure some of you who read this blog have done the same.  Not my granny though, my granny had a monkey when she was a child which she used to dress up and push around in a pram.  I remember the day I discovered she had a monkey .. no mention had ever been made of this fact to me in the past.  After my granny's death, we were looking through some photograph albums and I noticed this black and white photograph with a particularly ugly baby featured.  When I asked my mum who this ugly baby was she replied ...'of that was my mum's monkey'.. as if it was the most normal thing in the world!  What normaly person had a monkey to play with as a child?  Apparently, it got too wild and it was packed off to Glasgow Zoo.

The Bride and Groom

Back to reality, I contacted Urban Pup and a very helpful lady called Allison Cosgrove was only too pleased to offer some items for the the exhibition.  So, when you visit the exhibition you will be able to see a dog bride and groom ... I would have loved my dogs, Magpie and Dora, to model them but I decided that was a bad idea.  So Alison has kindly agreed to lend two canine mannequins too.  I can tell you that Miss Dora Dog and Mr M Pie are not happy with my decision.

AN EXCITING EVENT

I knew that there was something else I had to tell you .... not so much tell you but more to ask for your help!

Do you by chance still own your wedding dress or bridesmaid's dress and fancy giving it an airing one more time?  I really do hope so, because you are invited to a special event at Doddington Hall on 15 August for which I need your help.  On this day, I would like to add some more dresses to the exhibition...... the one that you wore on your own wedding day or as a bridesmaid at someone else's wedding. 

For just one day, there will be a selection of new dresses so come along ... along as you are wearing an exhibit!  Everyone turning up in their wedding/bridesmaid's dress between 1 and 5 pm, will be given free entry to the Hall, gardens and exhibition.

For more information contact me via email:  fiona@doddingtonhall.com

I really look forward to having lots of you turn up to what will be an extremely fun day.

THE CONTENTS OF A VERY LARGE BLUE BAG

Now I know this large blue bag doesn't look to exciting I know but what's inside it IS extremely exciting! 

On Friday 30 April, I travelled to Nottingham to meet a lady called Angela Vickers who hand makes stunning wedding dresses.  Her studio is based at Nottingham Fashion Centre on Lower Parliament Street in Nottingham.  After navigating myself around the rabbit warren that is the City of Nottingham and found the studio, I was given an extremely warm welcome by the lady herself. 

Every gown that Angela makes is individually crafted using only the finest silks, satins, delicate lace, feather, specialised embroidery and embellished with fabulous crystals.  Brides come from all over, even abroad, to her studio.  In the showroom there was a dress that took my breath away:  Angela then told me it had been bought by an Italian girl and she was taking it to Italy!

We moved into another room and Angela disappeared behind rows and rows of gowns, I didn't think I would ever see her again but then a she appeared with a dress, disappeared again, then she appeared with another dress.  This went on for about ten minutes and by the end of that time I was surrounded by some stunning gowns.

When I got the dresses home, I just had to get them out of the bag again.  And this photo shows them hanging in my dining room.  The room resembled a very up market fancy dress hire shop. 

Below I have given you a glimpse and a brief description of just a few of the ones that Angela has kindly loaned to the Exhibition.

The photo on the right shows an copy of the wedding dress worn by Lady Jane Grey.  She was the nominal Queen of England for just nine days in 1553, as part of an unsuccessful bid to prevent the accession of the Catholic Mary Tudor.

Jane was born in the autumn of 1537, the daughter of the Marquess of Dorset. Through her mother, Lady Frances Brandon, she was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII. At around the age of 10, Jane entered the household of Henry VIII's last queen, Katherine Parr where she was exposed to a strongly Protestant, academic environment. Jane developed into an intelligent and pious woman.  In October 1551, her father was created duke of Suffolk and Jane began to appear at court. There, real power lay in the hands of the fiercely Protestant Duke of Northumberland, who acted as regent to the young king, Edward VI. In May 1553, Jane was married to Northumberland's son, Lord Guildford Dudley.

It became clear that Edward was dying, and Northumberland was desperate to prevent the throne passing to Edward's half-sister and heir, the Catholic Mary Tudor. Northumberland persuaded the king to declare Mary illegitimate, as well as Edward's other half-sister Elizabeth, and alter the line of succession to pass to Jane.  Edward died on 6 July 1553. Four days later, Jane was proclaimed queen. However, Mary Tudor had widespread popular support and by mid-July, even Suffolk had abandoned his daughter and was attempting to save himself by proclaiming Mary queen. Northumberland's supporters melted away and Suffolk easily persuaded his daughter to relinquish the crown.

Mary imprisoned Jane, her husband and her father in the Tower of London. While Suffolk was pardoned, Jane and her husband were tried for High Treason in November 1553. Jane pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. The carrying out of the sentence was suspended, but Suffolk's support for Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion in February 1554 sealed Jane's fate. On 12 February, she and her husband were beheaded. Her father followed them two days later.

Lady Jane Grey's signature

This is a close up of the exquisite embroidery on the sleeves and body of the dress

 

The Lady Jane Dress is very elaborate but a favourite of mine is very 'Jane Austen'.  I love its simplicity.

 

 

Waiting for Mr D'Arcy

Angela also loaned her copy of the late Princess of Wales' wedding dress.  Most of the materials used for Princess Diana's dress were made in Britain. The designers constructed the dress from three different types of fabric, including high-quality taffeta made from silk woven on Britain's Lullingstone silk farm, more than 100 yards of tulle, and lace that once belonged to Queen Mary, which the designer and her mother hand-embroidered with more than 10,000 pearls and sequins.  The lace came from Nottingham.

The original dress worn in 1981.

After the dresses were packed away, we had to get them down to my car somehow.  Angela and her Assistant, kindly packed them into a huge bag which made it a lot easier but I still wasn't sure if I could get them in the car but we had to try.  On our way down the stairs, we met a couple coming up who looked at us in horror as they said it looked as though we were disposing of a body! 

The dresses fitted in my car but the petticoats for each of the dresses didn't so I will collect these at a later date.  Not a problem, as I will know exactly how to find Angela's studio!!

I am very grateful to Angela for taking the time out of her day on Friday and for the wonderful collection of dresses that she has loaned to Doddington Hall.  For information about Angela visit http://angela-vickers.co.uk/.

Next week I shall be visiting another lady who is kindly loaning her dress - it was made by her and has a wonderful story attached.  However, until I meet with her and get her approval to tell you the story, my lips are sealed!  I spoke to her on the telephone last night and she is quite a lady!

BROKEN PROMISE

I am sorry that I didn't deliver the promise I made in my last post!   I know it is now the 27th of April and I promised to come back to you all on the 22nd! However, don't despair I will let you know in due course if the news is good.  So far so good but I just to find a special piece of equipment and then I will let you all know of THAT dress.  I do so hope you will find the news worth the wait!

As well as working on THAT dress' I have also been busy trying to secure other dresses as well as working on launching a competition that we have just been given funding for. 

In March I attended a seminar at the University of Leicester which had been arranged by MuBu which is part of Rennaissance East Midlands (www.mla.gov.uk/renaissanceeastmidlands).  It was one of the most interesting seminars I have ever attended and was all about how to use the 'digital age' to promote an event i.e. by using Facebook, Twitter etc etc. 

Before the seminar, I had an idea of running a competition alongside the exhibition whereby (this is a simplified version) a wedding dress would be designed by students of Design and Technology from the County's secondary schools, the entries would then be chosen by a panel from Lincoln Univeristy Art and Design Department and the winning entry would be on show at the exhibition.

At Doddington, we have excellent relationships with primary schools who come to visit the Hall and take part in our education programme - they are also able to take part in events arranged in the Kitchen Garden.  Bishop Grosseteste college has helped us quite a bit in the past but I really wanted to concentrate on the secondary schools and perhaps give a student, who wants to go on and study fashion and design, a step on the ladder.

Last Friday I met with the staff at the University of Lincoln and outlined what I had in mind and they confirmed that they would be thrilled to be involved ... hallelujah!  So today, I have been working on the outline of the competition and am just waiting on having it approved - the University are the ones who are going to make up the dress so it has to be something that they can work to.  I will keep you updated on progress.

Due to the funding, we shall be able to make a film all about the life of the dress i.e. the inspiration, the material, the making of and finally the finished article in all its glory playing its role in the exhibition.  We are extremely grateful to Renaissance East Midlands for their help with this project.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I am attending the first of the training days to help with the project and I am looking forward to it immensely and will tell you all about it in my next update.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I spent the morning with Sara Basquill who is the Keeper of the Collections for a number of the Lincolnshire County Council museums like Gainsborough Old Hall and the Museum of Lincolnshire Life to name just a couple.  Sara was kind enough to let me look through her database of costumes which are held at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.  I came away with about 75 sheets of paper which I now have to look through and decide what to choose.  What a job ... how on earth am I going to choose what to leave out ... it's doesn't seem fair.  Sara mistakenly gave me details of a tank .... this is one exhibit that I won't have to think too hard about.

After lunch, I made my way to Tasty Vintage (http://www.tastyvintage.com/) which is a wonderful shop based at 9 Steep Hill in Lincoln and is owned by a lady called Harriet.  She sells vintage clothing and accessories from the 1920s through to the 1970s.  She showed me to her newly created 'wedding room' and what she had in there was mouthwatering.  I have chosen a number of dresses which include a couple from the 1960s ... very Twiggy and a wonderful velvet number from the 1920s which has a headdress a bit like Julius Ceasar's laurel wreath.  Not only has Harriet offered to lend me these dresses but she has also offered her own wedding dress - you can see it in the photo on the right.  This too is from the 1960s.

Also, this week we have been busily designing the flier for the exhibition.  It is very stylish and you will soon see these in and around the venues in Lincoln ... do pick one up or even a few so that you can pass them on to your friends.

This Friday I will be in Nottingham looking at another collection of dresses.  Again, I will have some difficult decisions to make but will let you know of just a few that might be making their to Lincoln.

LOCAL HEROES

Just before the Easter holiday, I received the most wonderful news about a very special dress that will hopefully be coming to the Exhibition.  I can't tell you anymore until after 21 April when I will decide whether or not it is feasible to bring the dress all the way to Lincoln.  Logistically, it could be a nightmare so I have a tough decision to make .... I promise to let you have all the details on or around 22 April.

However, since Easter I have been a rather busy wedding dress locator.  Immediately after I finished my last chocolate egg, I drove over to Wainfleet, near Skegness to meet a lovely lady called Nola Shaw who wore her grannie's wedding dress at her own wedding. 

The dress was first worn in 1947 by Margaret Joan Tebb (nee Harness) who was married at Carrington Church and then worn by Nola in 1995 when she was married at Thorpe St Peter's Church.  The dress had to be shortened and had a lace overlay added to cover some staining.

Nola told me that when she was getting married she had trouble finding the ideal dress and it was whilst clearing out her grannie's house that she found the dress that she eventually wore .... I think the fickle hand of Fate had a part to play.  For those who are or are about to be married, it's a nightmare trying to find the perfect dress....never mind trying to find the perfect man .. the dress is much much harder to find!

When Nola opened the box, we found all sorts ... not only Nola's headress but her grannie's too which is still rather beautiful.  However, the best thing of all was a pair of stockings worn back in 1947 on the big day!  They will all be joining the dress when it is on show in August.  Nola told me a lovely story about how the dress came to be which will be available to read during the exhibition.

From the Lincolnshire Coast I ventured over the border to Mansfield to collect a dress by Lindka Cierach, who made the magnificent dress worn by Sarah Ferguson when she married Prince Andrew .  We had this dress at our 1987 exhibition, so we are very grateful to the owners for lending it to us again.  When I saw the box it was packed in, I wasn't quite sure whether it was going to fit in to my car but it arrived safely back over the border to Lincolnshire late on Friday night.

Today Tuesday, I was in Fosdyke near Boston to meet a lady called Janet Verity who contacted me after my appeal on BBC Radio Lincolnshire last year, to tell me that she had a dress dating from 1939.   The dress belonged to her mother, and again like the dresses of that time, is very small.  It is made of silk adorned with painted flowers.  Janet told me that her mother wore the dress quite a lot after the wedding, as in those days, you bought something that you could wear again and again.  There is a rather sad story to this dress as the Groom left for War two days after the wedding.  I will have more to tell you when I next write as Janet will be sending me the complete wonderful story.  The good news is that the groom did return from the War and the happy couple were married for many years.

The lovely thing for me is that not only have the dresses been kept but there are hats, cards and other gorgeous little keepsakes.  Janet showed me a photograph of her daughter who was wearing the most divine red hat which was sat at a most precarious angle.....the same hat was laying on the table in front of me.  It turns out that it is the hat belonging to the wedding dress.  It has the original flowers and strap.  If you look to the right of the hat, you will see a card .... this is just one of a wonderful collection of cards exchange between Janet's parents during their time apart due to the War.

My friends always ask why I keep things that they think should be thrown away ... well this is your answer.... mementoes from important days or events should always be kept .... you just never know when someone is going to arrange an exhibition.  I have kept a scrapbook and diary since the 1980s and when I flick through them I am always amazed at what I have done over the years.  I always have a chuckle when I read some of my old diaries as I may have forgotten about a particular event. 

Don't forget to have a look on or around 22 April as I may well have some very good news.  

CHILD BRIDE

Whilst labelling some portriaits in the Hall today, I was 'grabbed' by Doddington's answer to Max Clifford ...the very lovely Amy Claridge who looks after the PR side of things at the Hall.

Amy needed to send out a press release out which she would like to do 'as soon as' and wanted to get some shots of me 'at work'.  I was quite reluctant as I didn't particularly look or feel my best and had ten lovely chipped nails which I would have to hide in the photographs she would have me posing for.  

Nevertheless,I looked out a couple of dresses, both of which wouldn't even fit over the mannequin as they were so small!  After much laughter, mainly from me, we managed to find one that fitted and the only reason for this is because it was worn by a child. 

This dress is rather special and has quite a sad history.  It dates from the Regency period (1820) and is made of cotton muslin.  The dress was worn by an illegitimate daughter of George IV at her wedding when she was only 12 year old.  It is incredibly small and has a low neck and the wide collar has bold indentations edged with ribbon and net lace.  It is decorated with Brussels lace under the bust and has huge leg o'mutton sleeves with similar decoration on the cuffs.  The skirt is embroidered in white with flowers.  

All of the illegitimate descendants of the Prince Regent's family were objects of shame in the Halsey family and so no reliable records were ever kept.  The family had received, until quite recently, a special pension. 

Whilst we were photographing the dress, Amy and I were discussing what the bridge might have felt on the day of the marriage, where the wedding took place and how she would have been feeling.

This dress forms part of the Doddington Hall collection.

1940s Dress

Just prior to Christmas I was a guest on a programme at BBC Radio Lincolnshire and took the opportunity to 'tout' for wedding dresses.  I talked a little about the exhibition and explained that I would like a few dresses from the County of Lincolnshire.  By the time I returned home I had received three telephone calls from ladies who had dresses that they were willing to lend, one of whom was a lovely lady callled Diana Wylde from Heighington.

On Monday morning this week, I went over to view the dress and to have a chat with Diana and find out who it belonged to and when it was worn.

After a very warm welcome, Diana went on to tell me that the dress belonged to her mother, Ellen Griffin, who married Walter Waldingham on 24 April 1940 at St Mary's Church, Horncastle.

Whilst there, Diana showed me a photograph of her mother and father's wedding day which will form part of the exhibition. 

Her mother was very tiny at 4' 10" tall so the dress is very, very small - I don't think it would fit over my thigh!  It is made of gold satin and has wonderful gold stain buttons up the back and on the sleeves. 

Diana also showed me the veil that her mother wore on the day.  I am always sceptical when someone said 'oh my veil would fit through a wedding ring' ... well not anymore ... the veil that I held in my hands today certainly would.  It is so light that I am sure it would float if you were to throw it into the air.

Unfortunately, Diana doesn't have her own dress which is a shame as it would have been lovely to have both of them keeping each other company.

Diana's grand-daughter is very excited about seeing her great-grandmother's wedding dress and is making a special trip from Brighton to the exhibition. 

I am very thankful to Diana for loaning the dress to the exhibition.

DECLINED INVITATIONS

Since the last update on the exhibition, I have received both bad news and some good news. 

The bad news is that the HRH Duchess of Cornwall is not able to loan the dress she wore at the Blessing Ceremony following her marriage to HRH The Prince of Wales in April 2005, to the exhibition.  The envelope with its distinctive frank arrived in my tray at Doddington Hall.  I can't tell you how I felt when I saw it ... it was a mixture of fear and excitement.  I can now totally understand how members of the public felt when they received letters that I would nonchalantly pop in the postbox during my time working for HRH The Duchess of Kent. 

I just couldn't believe that a simple postmark could bring on hyperventilation!  You will be pleased to hear that I have now regained my composure and whilst disappointed, do understand why the dress will not be coming to Doddington. 

The dress The Duchess wore for the blessing, was a floor-sweeping Guinevere-style coat and dress in porcelain-blue and gold. The Medieval coat, in silk brocade, was cut simply to frame the face and neck, before curving into the waist and then flaring out into a short train which billowed out beautifully in the wind as she and The Prince of Wales emerged on to the steps of St George's Chapel. Underneath was a matching, porcelain blue silk gown, hand-embroidered in gold thread. The ensemble was set off to perfection with a Phillip Treacy creation: a shimmering head-dress of gold ostrich feathers with Swarovski crystal tips.

Thinking about it, if the dress did come to Doddington I would have had to have changed the name to Old, New, Mostly Borrowed and Two Blue .... I already have a blue wedding dress .... mine!!!!

There is one reason I wanted to bring HRH's dress to Lincolnshire.  I won't tell you why at the moment as I don't want to tempt fate but I hope to let you know next week!

The good news is that I had some encouraging information whilst speaking to the Curator of one the stately homes not too far from Lincolnshire.  So, on her advice, I wrote and posted a letter today.  Again I won't tempt fate by telling you too much but will reveal all when I receive a reply!

NEW ARRIVAL

Yesterday (Thursday) I was at the Hall to photograph a new arrival ... not a baby but a rather gorgeous wedding dress dating from about 1907 and came via a gentleman who lives at the Rectory on the Doddington Estate. In a print from 1700 the Rectory is shown as little more than a cottage. In 1787 an estimate for total repairs came to the sum of £15: this included repairs to the house, stables, fences and to the Chancel of the church. The survey was carried out by Mr William Lumby who was Surveyor to Lincoln Cathedral and was employed by the owner of Doddington at that time, Sir John Delaval, to carry out renovations to the Hall itself. After the repairs were done, Sir John rented out the house and greatly improved it by adding a new front.  

The dress belongs to a relative of the owner of the Rectory and was originally made for the mother of his ancient aunt who will be 95 years old very soon.  She in turn married his mother’s eldest brother Jack Bergne-Coupland of Skellingthorpe Hall - Skellingthorpe is the village adjacent to Doddington.  The second time the dress was worn was at his mother's wedding and the final time in 1967 by a lady called Virginia Neild who is the current owner (his aunt's niece). 

Phew ... families are very confusing ... it has taken me ages to work all of this out so I apologise to all readers if, you too, find it hard to follow.

The dress arrived in a suitcase but is now wrapped in lots of tissue paper and a hanging bag in the Blue Room at Doddington.  My thanks go to Rose, our Housekeeper, for her hard work in doing this for me... we have all of these wonderful people at Doddington who save me lots of work without me even having to ask them. 

I was so excited that the dress was at Doddington as I was meant to be collecting it from Newmarket later this year.  I was not only excited by the fact that I wouldn't have to drive to Newmarket (I love Newmarket but as the exhibition draws near time is precious) but that one of the exhibits was in situ.

On opening the bag, I found the most gorgeous silk dress which was in extremely good condition.  Not only was there a dress but two capes:  one for the bride and one that must have belonged to a bridesmaid as it was quite small.   There was also a pair of shoes! 

Looking inside the dress I found the maker's lable and you will see from the photograph that it was made in Liverpool.  The cape was made in an entirely different part of the country and, again, the address can be clearly seen on its lable.

The shoes are just exquisite.  They are the typical style of the day and one that I love.  The soles are made of leather and the beading detail on the front of the shoe is beautiful.  They are like ballet shoes with heels!

Whilst looking at the dress, I was taken back to the owner of the Rectory's mother ... Nancy.  She was the sweetest lady and looked after me extremely well when I first arrived at Doddington.  Many a day she would cook me lunch and arrive at the office with produce from her garden - it was very hard to get work done when Nancy was around.  She was also a very well known trainer of gun dogs and could be seen every day on the Estate with her black Labrador, Busy Bee.... or was it Buzzy Bee?  Either way, they were both lovely!

OPENING TIMES FOR OLD, NEW, MOSTLY BORROWED AND SOMETHING BLUE

The exibition will open to the public on Sunday 1 August 2010 and run through to Friday 10 September.  Opening times are

Wednesday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays from 1 to 5 pm
Group and Special Interest Visits at other times by appointment.

For more information on the opening of the Hall please contact:

Nicky Wilson (House Manager) on 01522 694308
info@doddingtonhall.com or visit the website http://www.doddingtonhall.com/

For more information on the exhibition please contact:

Fiona Baker
fiona@doddingtonhall.com

You can also follow progress at fifibaker@twitter.com

BACKGROUND AND WORK SO FAR

After the success of last year's exhibition (The English Walled Garden) in association with the Royal School of Needlework, Doddington Hall's owner, Claire Birch, thought it a good idea to do another one which would be all about wedding dresses.  As I was just about to hand over my job as Wedding and Event Co-ordinator before moving to Australia, she thought I might be in need of a little job!

So, after the final pieces from the 2009's exhibition were returned to their rightful owners I go to work.  The first job was to venture in to Doddington's archives and look at the last exhibition of wedding dresses (The Fashionable Wedding) which was held in the 19802 and held to mark the wedding of The Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson.   You will remember that Sarah's dress was made by Lindka Cierach and we were lucky to have one other dress in the exhibition by the same designer.  Another dress featured belonged to Barbara Cartland ... you will be surprised to read that it wasn't pink! 

Miss Cartland's described her dress as 'very beautiful and elaborate.  I designed it myself from a sketch by Frederick Worth whom I admired very much.  Although he was English, he was the most famous designer at the end of the second empire in France, and up until La Belle Epoch'.  It was made of silk romain, a material which is sadly no longer used (I hope I am right).  The bodice was sleeveless and was encrusted with rhinestone embroidery.  The French swans feathers had to be made specially in Paris to add to the dress.  It was made by Hardy Amies.

The introduction of the original catalogue, written by the current owners's parents, made me chuckle.... here is why.  In 1843 George Ralph Payne Jarvis entered in his game book the birth of six puppies to a favourite dog and then goes on to add.......'my daughter was married today'!

So since January of this year I have been beavering away on the telephone, on the email, by snail mail and whizzing around the County of Lincoln in my car trying to secure exhibits and the response has been phenomenal.  I've had a couple of declines to my requests and whilst disappointed, understand the reason behind the decisions.

Some of the dresses you visitors to Doddington Hall (http://www.doddingtonhall.com) will be able to see have been loaned by Her Grace, The Duchess of Rutland of Belvoir Castle, The Hon Mrs Hugh Crossley of Somerleyton Hall, Mrs Orlando Rock of Burghley House.  I have also managed to persuade a number of brides married at Doddington to lend me their dresses.  After five years working as the Wedding Co-ordinator I have seen some stunning dresses and have chosen my personal favourites to be part of the exhibition. 

The dresses that have been loaned by private collections have wonderful stories to tell:  one dress was first worn at the start of the Second World War and then worn again in the 1980s.    One of the most unusual dresses belongs to a lady called Louise Fairburn who is an award winning breeder of Lincolnshire Longwool Sheep.  Her wedding dress was made from the fleece of one of her sheep called Olivia.  I first met Louise when I appeared on Judy Theobald's Morning Show (www.bbc.co.uk/radiolincolnshire).  Louise brought in the dress and on seeing the dress, I knew I had to have it for the exhibition.  Caroline Chamberlain (http://www.carolinechamberlain.co.uk) who made up the dress will also be involved and has kindly agreed to lend her sketch books/notes to accompany the dress whilst it is on show.

The Royal School of Needlework will feature again at this year's exhibition as the School has kindly agreed to lend me a stunning dress from their collection. 

The lovely thing is that the lady (and her husband) who donated the dress are celebrating her 50th Wedding Anniversary this year.

There are lot more dresses but I don't want to tell you too much as you won't have any surprises when you visit the exhibition!