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This elaborate court mantua from the 1720s possibly belonged to Lady Rachel Morgan, the wife of Sir William Morgan of Tredegar House, near Newport. Lady Rachel was the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, and brought with her a dowry of £20,000. In the 1790s her descendants invested in industrial projects. They opened coal mines and iron works on their land and built canals and tramways. The mantua consists of an open-fronted gown and a matching petticoat. The blue damask, which is heavily embroidered with silver thread, was woven at Spitalfields in London, an area once known for its silk weavers and mercers. Although the gown was altered during the 1800s, probably to wear as fancy dress, it remains an outstanding example of its kind.