Earlier this year we reported that the future of the Totnes Museum of Fashion and Textiles was uncertain. The trustees have now arranged to loan the Collection to the Institute of Fashion and Textiles at Falmouth University.

The trustees were determined to keep the Collection together.

Founded in 1967, it has been in Totnes for more than fifty years.

Twelve possible relocation plans were explored in the Totnes area but none passed the tests of sustainability, cost and time, as the lease on Bogan House runs out on the March 25 2025.

A spokesman for the trust said, “The University has a range of courses in fashion and textiles. It also has storage and display facilities which meet the conservation standards for the garments in the Collection, some of which are more than three hundred years old.”

The University is designing new courses in costume history at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Apart from being a student resource, they also have plans to exhibit the costumes both though exhibitions and by an extended online presence.

The Devonshire Collection of Period Costume is a collection of historic costumes.

The collection includes clothing for men, women, and children, dating from the 17th to the 21st century.

They have five silk gowns dating from between c1760 and c1785, early cotton gowns, embrodered men’s waistcoats and a couple of 18th century men’s suits.

From the 19th century there is both formal men’s and women’s wear including mourning dress, wedding dress, uniform and court dress.

There are also items from the 20th century.