Two Victorian Dresses put on display at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre
The display of two stunning Victorian dresses, each around 150 years old, at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, has offered an intimate insight into a local family whose name is perpetuated on one of the town’s streets.
The dresses - one black, one purple - are in remarkable condition. They were worn by Mrs Anna Jane Abbott Rees, whose maiden name was Sloggett. This family name, although no longer current in this community, is remembered in a street name - Sloggett’s Hill, a steep incline which links Prospect Place with Milton Terrace.
Anna was born in 1853 in Lower Prospect Row, Pembroke Dock, and her father was a shipwright in Pembroke Royal Dockyard.
At the age of 20 Anna married Price Rees, also a shipwright, on August 16th, 1873, and they had seven children, one of whom died at a young age, firstly living in Lower Prospect Row before moving to Meyrick Street. They were married for 56 years; Price died in 1929 and Anna in 1934.
The dresses and several other family heirlooms were offered to the Heritage Centre by Mrs Jane Phillips, Anna and Price’s great-granddaughter, who previously lived in the family home in Meyrick Street.
Also on display is a parasol of the same era and other family items include two Imperial Service Medals, one awarded to George, one of Anna’s three sons. Additionally, Price Rees’ handmade spirit level is shown in the display.
Delving into the family history proved absorbing for Heritage Centre Volunteer Dawn Pickering of the Collections Team: “Our aim was to make the connections between Anna and Pembroke Dockyard and to provide a background to the social life of that period, much of it during Queen Victoria’s long reign,” said Dawn. “We are very grateful to Jane Phillips and family for generously allowing us to display the dresses and tell their story.”