NEWS RELEASE

PR 965

For Immediate Release 27 September 2002

Last chance to see Queen’s dresses

VISITORS to Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Museum of Costume have got just over a month left to catch the ‘Jubilee!’ exhibition before it closes on Sunday, November 3.

Since it opened in December 2001 almost 125,000 people have been to see the exhibition that features 14 of the most dazzling dresses from the personal collection of Her Majesty The Queen.

Rosemary Harden, Keeper of Collections at the Museum of Costume, said: "The response to ‘Jubilee!’ from visitors has been absolutely overwhelming – it has undoubtedly been one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions ever.

"There’s still a chance for people to come and look at the exhibition before it closes on November 3 – so if you haven’t been to see it yet this really is your last chance."

‘Modern Times? People and Dress of the 1920s’ is the next special exhibition at the Museum of Costume that opens on Wednesday, December 11 and runs until Tuesday, November 4 2003.

This exciting new exhibition will look at all aspects of fashion and society in the 1920s for both men and women and will show how attitudes were beginning to change.

The display will have 60 models of men, women and children and all costumes will be taken from the Museum’s extensive collection.

For more information about ‘Jubilee!’ or ‘Modern Times’ please contact the Museum of Costume on Tel: 01225 477789 or log onto the new website at www.musuemofcostume.co.uk

The Museum of Costume is based at the Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath and is open to visitors seven days a week from 10am with last admission at 4.30pm. Entry is free to residents of Bath & North East Somerset.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Museum of Costume is based at Bath’s historic Assembly Rooms. It tells the story of fashion over the last 400 years and is one of the finest museums of fashionable dress in the world. More than 150 figures dressed in original garments are on display at any one time, drawn from the museum’s collection of more than 30,000 historic items. The collection is designated by Re:source as an "outstanding collection of national and international significance". This enabled the Museum to bid for a grant for the website and other development projects from the Designation Challenge Fund.

‘Jubilee!’ is the museum’s special exhibition until November 3 and features a selection of The Queen’s most splendid dresses, loaned to mark her Golden Jubilee. The dresses date back from the early 1950s to the late 1970s and have never been on public exhibition before. The exhibition features the work of three designers who made clothes for The Queen: Sir Norman Hartnell, Sir Hardy Amies and Ian Thomas. It is one of the exhibitions featured on the website.

The Museum received 128,000 visitors in the calendar year of 2001 and will receive that in less than the nine months of 2002.

For more information, contact:

Rosemary Harden, Keeper of Collections at the Museum of Costume, on Tel: 01225 477754 or e-mail rosemary_harden@bathnes.gov.uk

Patricia Dunlop, Commercial Marketing Manager - Heritage Services, Tel: 01225 477759 or e-mail patricia_dunlop@bathnes.gov.uk

For comment, contact:

Cllr Nicole O’Flaherty, Executive Member for Tourism, Leisure and Culture, on Tel: 01225 310341 or e-mail nicole_oflaherty@bathnes.gov.uk

Issued by: Richard Cottle, Bath & North East Somerset Press Office on 01225 477283

pressoffice@bathnes.gov.uk