Splendor of Downton Abbey on display at Himley Hall

Imagine Dame Maggie Smith in her stylish jewelled gown taking tea in the splendor of Downton Abbey.

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Maybe George VI's tailed grey suit, worn by Colin Firth, as he rose nervously to his feet to give an address to the public in the King's Speech.

Well now the glamorous gowns and sharps suits made famous in some of the biggest films and television dramas of the last decade are featuring in a new exhibition at Himley Hall, near Dudley.

Period costumes worn by the stars in films such as King's Speech and W.E. and frocks from award-winning ITV drama Downton Abbey are part of the showcase.

Bosses at the Midland manor house managed to secure star-studded collection from designers at Cosprop.

The firm have worked on a number of lavish films including Atonement with Keira Knightly and the slashbuckling Pirates of the Carribean series.

But they agreed to loan the costumes for the next two months as the hall celebrates its Royal connections to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

One of the most striking pieces was a green jacket and dress worn by Dame Maggie Smith who played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the hit television show.

There is also the cashmere wool overcoat worn by Colin Firth which appears scenes with Geoffrey Rush as King George VI tries to overcome his debilitating stammer.

It is worn with a simple double breasted suit blazer and trousers. Designers said the suit and shirt were specially tailored to allow Firth to look slimmer to match the build of the King.

With such a tight clothing budget, the film also sourced original 1930s outfits after struggling to find the correct tailoring and materials.

One of these was the brown coat and jumper worn by Helena Bonham Carter playing Queen Elizabeth in the multi Oscar-winning film.

Three of the bespoke outfits made for the three Granham sisters in Downton Abbey also form a major part of the exhibition which opens on Saturday.

An exquisite emerald and black coloured dress worn during one of Downton Abbey's evening occasions by Lady Mary Crawley, played Michelle Dockery, is among those on display.

She wore the dress in the first series of the show and is said to reflect the opulence of the pre-war period.

It was one of the dresses that sparked newspaper criticism of designers for using costumes from past productions as it featured originally in the film Finding Neverland, worn by Rhana Michelle.

The outfit would have cost at least £1,000 in material and production costs to make.

And Downton Abbey costume designer Susannah Buxton said around a third of all the outfits for the show were made from scratch claiming it would have been too expensive to make everything new.

But it was not just the evenings where style was important for the ladies of Downton. Show designers created a rich maroon coloured day suit for Lady Mary, mainly to establish her rank as the eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham.

The suit is paired with a blouse worn in the show when she sings 'If I were the only girl' as her true love Matthew returns on leave from the First World War.

There was also a matching handbag which matches the velvet on the collar of the suit.

Himley Hall estate manager Sally Newell said everyone at the hall was delighted to be able to display the unique collection.

"It is wonderful to see these outfits up close and we were thrilled when they agreed to let us have them here, especially over the course of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee," she said.

Hall assistant supervisor Julie Hinmam, aged 48, of Kingswinford, said Helena Bonham Carter's blue dress with the mock fur shoulder wrap for the King's Speech was her favourite on display.

"It is so elegant and I can remember seeing it in the film so to have it here on display is fantastic," she said.

There will also be dresses from Madonna's latest film 'WE' – the story of American divorcée Wallis Simpson and her famous relationship with King Edward VIII.

Himley Hall has strong royal connections and Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were frequent visitors in the 1930s.

The exhibition opens on Saturday (April 7) and runs until June 17.