Treasures from Worcestershire’s Past: ~16~ ‘Devonshire Brown’

14th March 2014

This week’s Treasure is a will chosen by Vicky Fletcher, Archivist. Here Vicky explains why this will in particular sparked an interest:

Whilst cataloguing some material from Worcester City Council, I came across a copy of a will from 1797 in which a widow is leaving her wearing apparell ‘except my Devonshire brown silk dress’ to a relative. This is interesting to me as I think it is a reference to Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire who was very much a fashion and style icon of the time.

Comments

Comments are closed.

Related news

27th August 2026

Finding fashion in the Sandys Archive

In this blog, we explore some of the records that reveal how fashion evolved across generations of the Sandys family. Clothes tell us a lot about the past. They offer insights into changing tastes, social attitudes and everyday life. The Sandys family of Ombersley created and kept a wealth of records that today help us...

21st August 2026

Outside Powick Asylum: The Governess of Brockencote Hall

In today’s blog, we tell the story of Lilly Pearson, a young woman admitted to Powick asylum whose time is recorded in records we hold over 100 years ago. Alongside patient files which are catalogued covering the period 1890’s-1980’s, we hold admission and discharge registers and volumes containing patient case notes from the late 19th...

14th August 2026

‘Dunkirk Joe’ – The Remarkable life of Admiral William Tennant

Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service are privileged to have a deposit in their collections connected to one of Worcestershire’s most distinguished naval heroes, Admiral Sir William George Tennant. In this article, we will take a look into the life of Admiral Tennant. Born at Quatford, Shropshire in January 1890 to Edmund and Mary Tennant, William...