The dress is believed to have been worn by Sophia Lewis, the great-great aunt of the donor. Sophia Lewis was born into a farming family in Montgomeryshire but went to work in domestic service in London with her sister Jenny. At the time Sophia would have worn this dress, she worked as a housekeeper for John Baring, 2nd Baron Revelstoke of Memblant, at his London home in Hill Street, Mayfair. As the dress is silk, it would have been worn for formal occasions, and is perhaps an example of ‘Sunday best’.