Crafting Bees recreate 1866 dress for Torbay RNLI StormFest commemoration.

At StormFest, Torbay RNLI and Brixham Gig Club plan to recreate the heroic achievements of the wives, daughters, sisters and mothers of fishermen who in 1866 saved many lives during the Great Storm and whose actions inspired the founding of Torbay’s RNLI lifeboat station.

The ‘Crafting Bees’ of Brixham have taken up the task of recreating period dresses for the day. The group comprises 10 talented “Crafters” who meet each week to design and make bespoke costumes and decorations supporting charity events for the likes of Rowcroft and the National Trust.

Over the coming weeks the ‘Bees’ are completing 30 historical outfits for activities planned on the 22^nd August, specifically hauling a replica 1866 lifeboat from Teignmouth to Torquay and rowing her across to Brixham. A gig has already been specially ‘wrapped’ to look like a nineteenth century lifeboat and the ladies involved on the day will don period costumes made by the Bees to match.

Each costume includes a “Tabard” and headwear - either beret or scarf – which the women of Torbay typically wore when gutting and cleaning the fish caught by their husbands, fathers and brothers. Whilst Tabards were usually grey, the berets and scarves were often dyed browney-orange using locally mined ochre that also served to protect trawlers’ sails and gave Brixham’s fishing vessels of the era their recognizably distinctive colour.

The local women, who became known as the ‘Angels of Brixham’, helped save many lives on the night of the Great Storm by building fires to guide trawlers caught in the storm back to harbour. They labored throughout the night to drag exhausted ‘casualties’ from sea and ships wrecked on the rocks. They sought out rowing boats to assist their efforts and most significantly they marched over to Teignmouth with the men to haul back the region’s only lifeboat and launch it from Torquay harbour to help the recovery efforts, the reenactment of which lies at the heart of events on 22^nd August.

Heather Ingram of Crafting Bees has designed the historical costumes based on her investigation of fisherwomen’s clothing from old photographs online. Heather told us “It was an obvious ‘yes’ when we were asked by Simon (of Torbay RNLI) if we could help dress the lady gig rowers who will be hauling and rowing the old ‘lifeboat’ on StormFest day. Our plan is to recreate the right 1866 look and do those heroic ladies proud, as I am sure they will be looking down on us on the day!”

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