A CENTURIES-old tradition is being brought back into the modern age.

Jackie Farnell has set up Hope and Dowry, named after the chests which girls of the 18th and 19th centuries would receive to keep table and bed linen in to take with them into their marriage.

Ms Farnell, who lives in Thornton-le-Clay, makes products like sheets, soft furnishings and other associated products which would be kept in the chests, and is working with local designers to make the chests themselves.

She said: "I realised that many people wanted something beautiful and different which would last for many years and could perhaps even be handed down to their daughters as they did in the old days.

''Many people have heard of the hope chest, but few know the unique value of creating one. Not only do the material items in the chest provide value, but the skills learned while creating items offer a lifelong heritage rarely found today.

"Whether the items are handmade or specially purchased, or whether they are family heirlooms or a childhood treasure, each item provides a unique legacy for the owner.'' In earlier centuries, every bride was expected to have such a chest. Helped by their mothers, sisters and other female relatives, girls were expected to start weaving and sewing sheets, towels, tablecloths, lace, quilts and other textiles to be used when they married and these would be kept in wooden, often decorated, chests.

The chest was kept in an important spot in the new bride's house and was used for storage. Later chests, particularly American, also included jewellery, letters, money, medicinal herbs, clothing for future children and even important documents. Products can be viewed at www.hopeanddowry.co.uk