A key part of the uniform for Suffragetes is expected to fetch more than £1,000 when it goes up for auction in Stourbridge this weekend.

An original ‘Votes for Women’ sash is up for sale on Saturday (May 19) at Fieldings Auctioneers.

The sash, created for the Women's Social and Political Union, is thought to have been made by the long established firm Toye Kenning and Spencer, who are based in Birmingham’s jewellery quarter.

Toye and Co were the original manufacturers of hats and ‘faschias’ (sashes) for the suffragette movement from the early part of the 20th century.

With its distinctive three colour design - green for hope, white for purity and purple for loyalty and dignity - the sash became an essential part of the ‘Suffragette uniform’ and was worn at demonstrations, processions and public events.

It is widely believed that these colours, now emblematic of the suffragette movement, were first seen at the Women's Sunday demonstration held in Hyde Park, London on 21st June 1908 when women wore their newly designed sash.

Toye and Co. who had a large female workforce, were supporters of the Suffragette movement and also made the medals for the hunger strikers who had been imprisoned for the cause.

These medals had bars under them for those who had been force-fed, some having more than one bar to reflect multiple stays in prison.

The original designs, dies and casts can still be found within the company’s archive and were recently unearthed by Jane Petrie, costume designer of the film Suffragette released in 2015.

Indeed Toye and Co reproduced all the sashes worn in the film using identical manufacturing methods to those employed more than 100 years ago.

Other suffragette related items in the same sale include an early 20th century part set of playing cards from the card game Panko or Votes for Women and a 1902 Edward VII penny defaced with the words Votes for Women, stamped across the King’s head.