Christening Dress
1700-1750 / Clothing / Fabric / Textile / The Wesley Family
Silk, cotton lace
1700s
By tradition, this finely-worked silk Christening dress belonged to the Wesley family. It would appear to date to the mid 1700s.
It is unlikely that John and Charles Wesley were christened in the dress. Their home, the old Rectory at Epworth, burnt down in 1709, when John was six and Charles two years' old. Susanna Wesley was not the type of mother who would have saved a christening dress when many other - more precious and essential - household items were lost.
John Wesley had no children, so it is possible and most probable that the dress belonged to the family of Charles Wesley. Charles had seven (or possibly eight) children, although only three survived infancy.
1700s
By tradition, this finely-worked silk Christening dress belonged to the Wesley family. It would appear to date to the mid 1700s.
It is unlikely that John and Charles Wesley were christened in the dress. Their home, the old Rectory at Epworth, burnt down in 1709, when John was six and Charles two years' old. Susanna Wesley was not the type of mother who would have saved a christening dress when many other - more precious and essential - household items were lost.
John Wesley had no children, so it is possible and most probable that the dress belonged to the family of Charles Wesley. Charles had seven (or possibly eight) children, although only three survived infancy.
