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Washbourne, Jane (1802-1882)

S. White's 'Jane and Ida', 2015. S. White's 'Jane and Ida', 2015.

Jane Washbourne, née Bidley, from the village of Beer, Devonshire, was an independent lace dealer who was appointed "Honiton Brussels Point Lace Manufacturer" to Queen Victoria, on 14th August 1837. She organised the production of the lace for Queen Victoria's wedding dress (which she attended, on 10th February 1840) between May and November 1839, for which work some two hundred workers in Beer were employed.

The lace of Queen Victoria's wedding dress included the neck (bertha) and sleeve frills, a flounce attached to the back of the dress, and the veil. When the work was finished, the original designs were destroyed, in order to prevent any copies being made. The veil returned to Beer in 1982 when it was exhibited in St Michael's Church. The wedding dress was exhibited at Kensington Palace in 2012.

Jane Washbourne later moved to Glouchester, Manchester and then to Torquay, where she died.

Source: WHITE, S. (2015). Jane and Ida. Beer Lace Manufacturers to Royalty, Broadoak: Honeybee Books.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 20 March 2017).

WV

Last modified on Monday, 20 March 2017 13:20