Renowned Cumbria tailor raises £4,000 for charity through suit raffle

Redmayne 1860 in Wigton attracts customers from around the world for its made to measure suits and has been based in the town for more than a century.

The company has been at the forefront of Savile Row tailoring for more than 160 years and helps put Cumbria on the global scene.

Redmayne have always been proud of their local links and the head cutter, Tom Mahon, decided to put on a raffle for local charity, Eden Valley Hospice.

“We first got the idea after talking to a local lady in Wigton,” said Tom.

“She was saying that her son had got his first job interview and he'd love a suit, but that they couldn't afford us.

“We can never say no to local people, so we always offer suits that have been used for modelling so they’re not second hand and in the worst-case scenario we measure people up properly and advise where to go.

“I was speaking to my wife about this, and she said why not do a raffle and try and keep it local.”

Redmayne 1860 shopfront in Wigton (Image: Redmayne 1860)The prize for the raffle was a bespoke, tailor-made suit worth more than £2,000 and was won by local man, Chris Scott who said he was ‘amazed’ by his win.

“I’m absolutely delighted but I’m more delighted to be able to actually offer money and help with charity,” said Chris.

“I’ve no idea about what style I’ll go for – I’ll have to go and see the fabric first – but I’m suited and booted for work, so it’ll be nice to have a top-quality suit to wear.”

A special event was held to mark the draw with the food provided by the ‘amazing’ Dog and Gun in Skelton free of charge.

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The draw for the raffle took place on Saturday evening at Redmayne’s Wigton shop and was broadcast live to Redmayne’s 70,000 Instagram followers and Tom said he was ‘delighted’ with the amount raised.

“The raffle was only for people in the UK but when we put it out on our social media, we were getting people from Japan and the United States and everywhere saying ‘I can't participate, but I want to make a donation’ to Eden Valley Hospice which is just amazing’.

Eleanor Viney, fundraising manager at Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's said: "We'd like say a big thank you to Redmayne 1860 for their wonderful generosity in raising money for the hospice through their made to measure suit raffle, ensuring more local families can benefit from compassionate care at a time when it is needed most.

"Our trustee Paul Agnew was delighted to attend the raffle draw event and be part of a very special evening highlighting the care provided by the hospice, which is only possible thanks to generous people and businesses in the community, such as Redmayne and all those who bought tickets."