Gowns of the past on display at Shropshire museum
Valentine's Day may have been and gone but the romance continues for another month at a Shropshire exhibition.
A display of wedding dresses is being held at Ludlow Museum Resource Centre, where six wedding dresses from the past 100 years are on show, along with the costumes of other guests.
Avril Lines, who works at the centre, said: "These are out of our collection. We have all of the costume collections for Shropshire county in our climate- controlled storage here.
"Most of the items are donated," she added.
Among the items is a lace wedding dress from 1970, bought from Maddox in Pride Hill, Shrewsbury, a white satin dress dating from 1940, plus two older white dresses from 1900 and 1908.
"But they're not all white," said Ms Lines.
"There is a two-piece lilac dress from 1870 and an embroidered cream printed chiffon dress from the 1920s with gold lace, which is absolutely beautiful."
Aside from the brides' dresses there are also three bridesmaids' outfits, and a mother-of-the-bride's silk jacket and skirt, as well as a bridegroom's outfit - the oldest piece in the exhibition.
The tailcoat and silk top hat are from 1808 and belonged to a Mr IJ Boughey, who has written a note in the sleeve saying "The coat I was married in".
Ms Lines said the exhibition, which runs until the end of March in the Lower Gallery, had been put together by volunteers Margaret Williams and Jan Barnes, who had been looking after the costume collections for about 20 years.
Also taking place at the centre is an Anglo-Saxon display, which runs to March 15, called The Mercian Trail, about the Staffordshire Hoard.
