No swooning!

One of the recent additions to the Bankfield Museum's permanent textiles collection is this white linen shirt. It was famously worn by Colin Firth, who played Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. In an invented scene, Fitzwilliam Darcy stripped to his breeches to take a cooling dip in a pond. Emerging wet and with his shirt clinging, he then encountered Elizabeth Bennett,  who had previously turned down his proposal of marriage. Suffice to say, that was a turning point in their relationship. (Well, you would, wouldn't you?) 

The shirt was one of a number of costumes auctioned for charity in 2024 by Cosprop, the theatrical costumiers. It was bought by Calderdale Museums for £25000, from their Works of Arts Fund, funded by public donations and bequests. 

Now then...  No Swooning!