Victorian England (1800-1900AD)

As colonial Europe expanded into the Americas, Africa, India and China, Britain became one of the more powerful and widespread empires in the world.  Under the long-lived Queen Victoria (1837-1901), technological advances in engineering, architecture, science and medicine emerged. Museums acquired huge collections of natural history and ethnography and Charles Darwin advanced his theories of evolution.

The Museum has a large collection of fashion plates dating from 1770-1920.  Queen Mary made a substantial donation of Victoriana to the Abbey Folk Park in 1934.  A collection of Regency and Victorian dress fans was gifted in 1989.