Honiton Museum curator Margaret Lewis
Published:
6:00 AM March 7, 2021
Wearing black ‘widow’s weeds’ led to a demand for black Honiton lace, as displayed in Honiton museum
- Credit: Honiton Museum
Most of the country was changed in the 18th century by the industrial revolution. The 20th century created a whole industry around health and safety and during the 19th century manufacturing centred around death, funerals, and mourning.
Victorian rules for mourning were complicated and strict but did not apply as much to men as they did for women. Men wore a black crape armband (on the left arm, three inches wide, above the elbow) for three months.