Historic dress & textiles · Devon · est. 1967
Three centuries of fashion, preserved for everyone.
The Devonshire Collection of Period Costume is one of the largest collections of historic dress and textiles in the United Kingdom — more than 40,000 garments and accessories dating from the 1700s to the present day.
About the Collection
The Devonshire Collection of Period Costume CIO exists to collect, restore and exhibit historic dress and textiles — for the research, education and enjoyment of students and the wider public.
Founded by theatre enthusiasts in 1967 and displayed for nearly five decades in a dedicated museum on Totnes High Street, the Collection is today housed at Falmouth University, where it supports teaching and research across fashion, textiles, history and the creative industries.
Our work covers the full life of the Collection: the careful conservation and curation of fragile garments, the cataloguing of tens of thousands of objects, and the exhibition and promotion of the holdings so that this remarkable record of what people wore — and why — remains open to everyone.
Our History
Three theatre friends — Peter Clapham, Paula Morel and Annette Ingold — combine their private collections of period dress and stage their first charity dress parade at Oldway Mansion, Paignton. The Devonshire Collection of Period Costume is born.
At the suggestion of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Collection features in the BBC television series Collectors' World. Donations of interesting and valuable garments follow.
The first summer exhibition opens at 10a High Street, Totnes. A new exhibition is mounted almost every year for the next five decades.
The Collection moves to Bogan House, a Grade I listed Tudor building on Totnes High Street, and becomes the Totnes Fashion & Textiles Museum — its home for 38 years.
As the museum's lease ends, the Collection is entrusted to Falmouth University and installed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled facility — keeping it in the South West and opening a new chapter of research, teaching and digitisation.
The Collection
Dress for women, men and children from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first — silk gowns from the 1760s, Victorian crinolines, Edwardian lace, jazz-age evening wear, utility clothing, couture and contemporary design. Together the pieces form a chronicle of social change, textile technology and stylistic evolution across three centuries.
Evening & couture
From court dress to couture houses such as Callot Soeurs — evening wear tracing a century of changing silhouette.
Textiles & technique
Brocades, velvets, lace and embroidery — a working archive for the study of fabric, cut and construction.
Everyday & working dress
Not only finery: day dress, children's clothes and accessories record how ordinary people dressed and lived.
A Digital Future
At Falmouth University the Collection has been installed in a new climate-controlled store and is being extensively catalogued — object by object.
Working with the University's expertise in fashion, games technology and digital archiving, the Collection is being reimagined for the twenty-first century: high-definition digital records, 3D scanning of significant garments and immersive ways of experiencing fashion heritage, both in person and online.
An inaugural exhibition at Falmouth showcased the first phase of this exploration, involving staff, students and local businesses — and sparked ideas for future research, collaboration and public engagement.
Our long-term ambition remains what it has always been: a permanent public home where the Collection can be seen, studied and enjoyed by all.
Research & Visits
The Collection is housed in the Fashion & Textiles Institute at Falmouth University and is not currently open for general visiting. A selection of material may be viewed by appointment for research or scholarly purposes — please get in touch to discuss your project.
Trustees
The Collection is governed by a board of trustees with experience across dress history, curation, education and heritage.
- Dr Kate StrasdinChair — dress historian and Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University
- John BoddyTrustee
- Dr Julie RipleyTrustee
- Julia FoxTrustee — long-time honorary Curator of the Collection
- Alison AlexanderTrustee
- Pamela ScottTrustee
- Joanne TattersTrustee
Contact
Write to us
The Devonshire Collection of Period Costume CIO5 Holne Cross
Ashburton
Devon TQ13 7QH