In Conversation With Elizabeth McCrum

In Conversation with Elizabeth McCrum, our previous Fashion and Textiles Curator, and current Curator of Textiles and Fashion, Charlotte McReynolds, as they reflect on the loss of the museum’s original costume and textile collection.

Charlotte McReynolds and Elizabeth McCrum
Date
Saturday 15th August 2026
Time
14:00 to 15:00
Event type
Free

Join Elizabeth McCrum and current Curator of Textiles and Fashion, Charlotte McReynolds, as they reflect on the loss of the museum’s original costume and textile collection and the extraordinary effort to rebuild it.

On 11 November 1976, a devastating fire at Malone House in South Belfast, then used to store the Ulster Museum’s fashion collection, resulted in the near-total destruction of its original costume and textile archive.

At the time, Elizabeth McCrum, a young Fashion and Textiles Curator, was faced with the immense challenge of rebuilding the collection from the ground up. Only one piece survived: the Lennox quilt, which had been on display elsewhere when the fire occurred.

Today, the restored collection is on view at the Ulster Museum as part of the Ashes to Fashion exhibition.

What to know

Everything you need to know about this talk

Please meet at the Belfast Room in Ulster Museum for this talk, taking place at 14:00 on Saturday 15th August.