The 13th of October – Charles Frederick Worth’s birthday – was an auspicious day for our volunteer group to go on a research trip down to London! We have been in contact with curators from the V&A over the last few months, and they have delivered some very successful talks for us, illustrating the life of our famous resident Charles Frederick Worth.
Charles was born at and spent his early childhood living in Wake House. After a change in family circumstances, he entered the working world, finally moving to London and then Paris to head one of the most celebrated Fashion Houses of the day. Today he is known as the ‘Father of Haute Couture’. Our volunteer research group is dedicated to exploring the history of Wake House, Charles Frederick Worth and Bourne in the 1800s. Their hard work has recently resulted in new pop up banners of their research being created, and the discovery of the job advert for Charles’s first job as a boy of 11 or 12!
To further their research and celebrate their achievements, our volunteer research group travelled down to London to explore the V&A for themselves, enjoying the museums many displays and spotting the House of Worth being mentioned in the public displays. However, our friendly curators had a treat in store for us as well. They had investigated their archives, and pulled out original watercolours, photos, and designs of Charles Frederick Worth’s work. We were treated to private viewing, where the inventiveness, beauty and – in some cases – outlandishness of the designs took our breath away!
We can’t wait to keep exploring the history behind Wake House and look forwards to our next day out. If you are interested in joining our research group, please get in contact with us at wakehousenew@gmail.com!
The volunteer research group has been set up with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Heritage Lincolnshire.
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