Victorian-era business papers found in a Greggs bakery store attic that once belonged to a “remarkable” woman will be on show as part of a special exhibition in Newtown.

Enterprising High Street draper Amelia Ray is the focus of this summer’s free exhibition at the Newtown Textile Museum

“We tend to think of the Victorian age as a male-centred society, but Amelia showed just how enterprising and successful women could be”, said museum curator John Evans.

“Thanks to the discovery of her business papers in the attic of what is now Greggs, we’ve been able to piece together the life of this remarkable lady”.

Visitors to the museum in Commercial Street will also be able to try on Victorian clothes and photograph themselves which is inspired by Montgomeryshire’s first professional photographer John Owen.

OTHER NEWS: 

Newtown Textile Museum will reopen for its summer season on Tuesday, May 2, after what has been a busy winter.

The museum, which has been entirely volunteer-run since its transfer from Powys Count Council in 2016, is planning its most ambitious season to date.

Chair of the Management Committee Janet Lewis said: “We are very excited about the changes we are making this year.

“Over the winter, we have stripped out the old reception in order to provide a more welcoming area for our visitors and a larger space for the growing range of quality items in our shop.”

County Times:

The summer will also see a wide range of textile-based workshops led by local craftspeople, the Quilt Association and Braid Society.

The popular Tapestry Tuesday workshops will return to help occupy children during their summer holidays.

“There will also be an opportunity to learn how spinning was carried out in Iron Age and Medieval times. And we will have a resident student weaver on hand every Thursday and Saturday for a six-week period so that visitors can see our looms in action”, explained volunteer Victoria Haire.