22/09/2026
Last Chance to see......
The season is coming to an end; at the end of October our 2026 exhibition will end. Why not drop in before it is too late!
Here is a taster from our Lilford Hall exhibit.
A rare glimpse into Downstairs Life at Lilford Hall
Three waistcoats have been reunited to provide a brief glimpse of the staff who worked at Lilford Hall in about 1910 for the current display at Oundle Museum. This waistcoat was given to the museum with the information that it had been worn by the Butler at Lilford Hall, just south of Oundle. He was called John Browning and had started work as a footman in London. He worked for the Powys family at Lilford from the 1890s until his death in 1927. In a story worthy of Downtown Abbey, John married the head housemaid at the Hall, Jane Brett, in 1894.
By chance a similar waistcoat with the same construction of a wool embroidered canvas front with bound edges had been given to Northampton Museum and Art Gallery in 1976. It also has a striped cotton lining that had been overlaid with flannel at the rear for warmth.. Patterns were provided for embroidered, knitted or crocheted in women’s magazines during the period. The fronts would probably have been made up by local tailors although there is no label in either case. This second waistcoat belonged to Harry Turpin who was the coachman at Lilford Hall in 1911. In 1911 Harry married Theresa Robinson, a ladies maid. She would definitely have had the sewing skills necessary to embroider the front her husband’s waistcoat – and to add the new lining when the old one got worn. Sadly we will probably never know if she also made the Butler’s waistcoat as well.
The third of the waistcoats on display was originally given to the Thrapston and District Historical Society and recently passed to Oundle Museum. This is a black silk grosgrain waistcoat made by Hill Bros of London. Hill Brothers held a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria for tailoring around the time this waistcoat is made. The 4th Lord Lilford had some of his clothes made at Hill Bros. However the label of this waistcoat implies it was made specifically for a footman working for Lord Lilford, possibly called “Nickolson”. As yet we haven’t been able to find out any more about when or where he worked for Lord Lilford but would be interesting to know why the waistcoat was left at Lilford some sixty years after it was made.
