Mary Farnan Bettans (c. 1788 – 29 January 1859) was an English dressmaker. She was the official royal dressmaker of Queen Victoria and notably designed her iconic wedding dress in 1840.

Life

Bettans was born in Southwark, Surrey.[1] In 1817, she married Samuel Bettans at St Martin-in-the-Fields.[2]

Mary Bettans had her establishment at 84 Jermyn Street in London. In 1841, her business was described as a "well conducted establishment" with journeywomen, in-door apprentices and improvers.[3]

Bettans had a long association with Victoria, making mourning clothes for her on the death of her father in 1820,[4] as well as her wedding dress twenty years later.[5] In the 1846 official calendar, Elizabeth Johnston had the title "Dress Maker Extraordinary" while Mary Bettans was called "Court Dress and Dress Maker".[6] They were not the queen's only dressmaker, as she was also known to be the client of the House of Creed as well as John Redfern.[7]

She died in 1859 at Forty Hill, Enfield, aged 71.[8]

References

  1. ^ 1851 England Census
  2. ^ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935
  3. ^ Manufactories, Great Britain Commissioners for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children in Mines and (1842). Appendix to the Second Report of the Commissioners: Trades and Manufactures, Reports and Evidence from Sub-Commissioners. William Clowes and Sons.
  4. ^ Murphy, Deirdre (2019). The Young Victoria. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 50. ISBN 9780300238877.
  5. ^ Timms, Elizabeth Jane (10 February 2019). "Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress". Royal Central.
  6. ^ The British Imperial Calendar, on General Register of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Its Colonies (etc.). Arthur Varenham. 1843.
  7. ^ Tierney, Tom (1987). Great Fashion Designs of the Victorian Era Paper Dolls in Full Color. New York: Dover Publications. p. 17. ISBN 0-486-25527-1.
  8. ^ "Deaths". Morning Post. 3 February 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
Categories