'It's like a social history of weddings'

Kevin Thornhill's dress collection spans the years 1848 to 2018

A man has been sharing the stories behind his collection of hundreds of wedding dresses dating back to 1848, as he exhibits them around north-east England.

Kevin Thornhill, from Peterlee, has amassed about 400 gowns over four decades and brides are still donating their dresses to this day.

"It's real privilege to be given somebody's wedding dress, because it's from a very important day in their lives and they trust you to take it and look after it and try and preserve it," Mr Thornhill said.

Some of the dresses from the collection, which has helped raise more than £600,000 for charity since 1995, are being shown at exhibitions and fashion shows.

The dresses will next be on show Sunderland, York and Middlesbrough

Mr Thornhill, who is now based in Sunderland, said the collection began with some family members' dresses which had been made by his grandmother between 1907 and the 1940s.

He also used to get second-hand dresses from women when he ran a bridal shop in Shotton Colliery and decided to use the gowns to help charitable causes.

"Sometimes I've just received dresses through the post with a letter saying we've heard about you and we would like you to have one of our dresses for your exhibition," Mr Thornhill said.

The oldest piece in the collection is though to date back to Victorian times

About 60 of the gowns are being shown at Queen Street Masonic Temple in Sunderland until Sunday, of which a single deep purple dress stands out in the sea of white.

Mr Thornhill said it had been donated about three weeks ago and was believed to date to 1848.

Queen Victoria's white dress for her wedding in 1840 helped popularise the tradition, however most brides at the time could not afford a white gown.

Mr Thornhill said signs of repair on the sleeves showed the piece had been worn again later, most likely as a best dress for special occasions.

It belonged to a Northumberland bride and had been passed down the generations.

One wedding dress, believed to have been made by Coco Chanel, was never worn

A 1923 dress in the collection is believed to have been made by Coco Chanel as a wedding present for the bride, who was set to marry an MP.

"However, when the time came, the bride had other ideas and she eloped with her father's chauffeur two days before the wedding, so the bride never wore it," Mr Thornhill said.

"The family actually donated it through a third party, so I didn't know who they were."

The collection also includes the toile designer Sir Norman Hartnell made for Princess Margaret ahead of her wedding.

"It's a pride in the collection," said Mr Thornhill, who has created replicas of other royal wedding gowns - including Princess Diana's - for the collection.

Mr Thornhill's wife's wedding dress is also on show

But there are also some more personal items on show.

His wife's wedding dress from 2002 is on show, as well as the one his aunt wore in 1944, months before his uncle's death.

"My uncle was in the RAF and that dress was made out of a parachute," Mr Thornhill said.

"Our family are very proud of that dress."

The wedding dress of Mr Thornhill's aunt was made from parachute fabric

After Sunderland, the dresses will move on to Middlesbrough and York, but when not on display the vast collection is kept in a storage unit at a specific temperature.

Mr Thornhill said he planned to give the dresses to the Museum of Fashion in Bath when he is no longer able to look after them.

"I just enjoy it. It's a real big hobby now, rather than a business," the 63-year-old said.

"People have said it's like a social history of weddings."