Tuesday 14th October 2025

By Kayleigh Shepherd

This autumn and winter, Sewerby Hall invites visitors to explore the unseen side of fashion history through a revealing display, with mannequins showcasing the styles and types of underwear worn by our ancestors.

Visitors will be able to discover a history of hidden layers through the unique display, offering a rare glimpse beneath the surface of historical costumes.

Now open to visitors, the display features a mix of original and reproduction garments with ten mannequins adorned in underwear from across centuries gone by.   

Highlights include Tudor blackwork embroidery and Queen Elizabeth I effigy stays, Georgian petticoats and pockets, Regency chemises and Edwardian corsetry.

One of the items on display is the iconic Georgian lobster tail bustle, circa 1880s, which marked a dramatic shift in fashion from rounded fullness to a more sculpted silhouette. The exaggerated form of the lobster tail bustle was created to emphasise volume, contributing greatly to the evolution of female fashion.  

This display is volunteer led, with many of the reproduction items having been made by Sewerby Hall’s talented volunteer team.

The garments will be on display in different rooms of the house including the Blue Bedroom, Dining Room and Drawing Room.

Volunteer Jeni White from Hull, said: ‘’This is a lovely opportunity, I always found it a shame that such beautiful handiwork was hidden away under layers, even if it is hidden by pretty dresses.”