Belsay Sporting Weekend of Victorian Fashion

Belsay Goes For Gold with a Sporting Weekend of Victorian Fashion 

As part of Belsay Hall’s spectacular month-long Fashion from the Past event, this weekend (19 and 20 May), visitors are invited to take a hop, skip and jump back to the Victorian era, with a look at some of the sporting attire of the day.

In what is an iconic sporting year, English Heritage is taking a look back at how things were in Victorian times, with particular focus on women’s sporting pursuits, including swimming, cycling, horse riding, croquet and tennis.

The sporting stars of today are lucky enough to be able to wear high tech, breathable fabrics such as lycra and airtex, enhancing their performances, and, through a series of exciting presentations and hands-on costume displays, visitors will discover exactly what the Victorians had to contend with, taking a closer look at the more cumbersome sporting attire of days gone by!

Historical experts, History’s Maid, will lead the presentations throughout the event and Dr Kate Vigurs, who runs the organisation, will explain the pivotal role that fashion played in the sport of the day. Visitors this weekend can also look forward to presentations of medieval dress for nobles and servants from Discover History.

Kate said: “This weekend at Belsay, we’ll be taking a look at sporting fashions from Victorian times to see just how much things have changed over the years. The Victorian age was a turning point for women in sport as they began to have opportunities to play sports such as badminton, swimming, cricket and cycling too – fashion played a huge role in what they could and could not do. In contrast to modern times, women had to remain especially ladylike and graceful when they took part in sport and as you can imagine, corsetry and other attire was restrictive and not particularly comfortable!

“We will be showcasing many examples of the sportswear of the day, including a look at Victorian swimwear – with your bloomers and mop cap, it was a far cry away from today’s less restrictive clothing! Visitors will also be able to handle some sporting equipment, for example, high quality horse riding gear – again, it wasn’t easy for women in Victorian times as they would be riding side saddle in their corsets.

“We hope to welcome lots of people to find out more at our presentations and displays this weekend at Belsay.”

Belsay’s Fashion from the Past month runs until 27 May. With daily costume displays throughout the month showing the trends of Tudor nobles and a series of exciting weekend presentations, visitors to Belsay will be able to take a trip through time at this extra special event.

Belsay Hall, Castle & Gardens opening hours
Belsay is now open daily from 10am – 5pm.

Admission prices:
Adult: £7.70 / Concession: £6.90 / Child: £4.60. Under 5s and English Heritage members go free

For more information about Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/belsay or call 01661 881636.

For regular updates, ‘like’ Belsay Hall on Facebook – www.facebook.com/belsayhall

For more information about all of the events and English Heritage properties please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/northeast