Gold silk velvet wedding dress embroidered with artificial pearl beads; made by an unknown maker for the marriage of Maud Cecil in November 1927.

Gold silk panne velvet wedding dress. The inside neckline, sleeve ends and hem are faced with cream silk. The ankle length dress has a square neckline, long sleeves, fitted bodice and full skirt. The front and back of the bodice are both cut in one piece and are shaped to the body with pairs of self-piped darts rising from the waist. The waist line and sleeve heads are also finished with self-piping. The skirt is cut in three panels, set into the waist with gathers and a narrow band of shirring. The long tapering sleeves are cut with shaped ends which fasten with five faux pearl buttons and worked eyelets. The bodice opens at the left side and closes with thirteen metal hooks and worked eyelets. A pair of hanging loops are attached to the inside waist. The neckline and sleeve ends are decorated with a row of artificial pearl beads and a narrow band of trailing berries worked in the same beads. The centre front of the dress is also embroidered with artificial pearl beads in a scrolling foliate pattern which rises from the hem to form an inverted 'V'.

Given by Oriel and Alicia Robinson, direct descendants of Maud Cecil

This wedding dress was worn by Maud Katharine Alicia Cecil for her marriage to Richard Greville Acton Steel on 17 November 1927 at St. Margaret's Westminster, London. Maud Cecil was the daughter of Evelyn Cecil, 1st Baron Rockley and the Hon. Alicia Margaret Tyssen-Amherst.

Evelyn Cecil was a high profile Conservative MP, and Alicia Amherst was a pioneering horticulturalist. Maud was related to the Cecils of Hatifeld House and directly descended from William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (1520-1598), chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Her great uncle was Lord Salibury, Prime Minister under Queen Victoria.

Maud was described by her father as the 'fifth wheel on the chariot' and was considered something of a rebel. She studied art at the Slade School and painted landscapes and portraits.

Style and clothing were very important to Maud throughout her life. Even when she was elderly, she covered her watch strap in deep blue velvet. She had a large studio in South Kensington, the walls of which she had decorated in gold leaf squares.

This gold silk wedding dress embroidered with artificial pearl beads was worn by Maud Katharine Alicia Cecil for her marriage to Richard Greville Acton Steel on 17 November 1927 at the church of St. Margaret's Westminster in London.

Photographs of the bride show how she wore the dress. Her veil was held in place by a heavy wreath of orange blossom worn low on her brow and her long court train was carried by a page and bridesmaid. She also wore a camisole with scalloped lace edging to soften the square neckline of the dress and cover her décolletage.

Velvet was a popular choice for winter weddings in the 1920s and fabrics incorporating gold and silver threads were fashionable alternatives to white satin. By 1926 some brides were marrying in knee length sleeveless or short-sleeved dresses but others, like Maud Cecil, took a more traditional approach and chose an ankle length skirt.

T.126-2009