Madam Clapham



SPEAKER: Rob Bell



Friday, September 16 at 1.30pm
Wrecking Ball Arts Centre,
Whitefriargate




This talk, given by Rob Bell, explores the context of women in society from around the 1880s through to when Madame Clapham’s Salon closed in 1967. The salon located in what is now the Kingston Theatre Hotel with up to 200 seamstresses in its pomp, served establishment with gowns of distinction, matching the style and cachet of London and Paris. Princess Maud of Norway, daughter of Queen Victoria, was a client.


This talk is evolving all the time with more information on the working life of the seamstresses and other salons across
Hull at this time.


Then The Strange Death of Corsetry - this popular play explores the life of seamstresses and shifting fashion scene. Before the war, all is long and elegance, funded by the aristocracy. The war puts paid to all of that, with aristocratic women shifting to make do and mend, a dramatic decline in servants and women working in munitions factories gaining independence - all this against the rising tide of suffragette-inspired clamour for the vote.

Booking Details

No booking required


Access

Access by stairs only to first floor


COVID-19 Considerations

This event will run in line with local & national government guidelines at the time of the festival.


Additional Information

Contact for the day:JOHN NETHERWOOD
www.hullandbeverleyheritagestore.co.uk


Organised by

JOHN NETHERWOOD