All kinds of tasks with small children are accompanied by songs. From getting up to bath time, if Grandma is in charge there is a song for each activity. So when getting small children dressed the song is " "Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me/ With your musket, fife and drum?"/ "O no, sweet maid, I cannot marry you for I have no coat to put on"/ So off she went to her grandfather's chest and brought him a coat of the very, very best/ and the soldier put it on ..." etc etc, substitute whatever you are dressing the child with, vest, knickers, socks, tee shirt and so on until the child is dressed. Then six year old recently asked, "Grandma, can you remember being six?", "Yes I can", "What was it like?" Well ...... it was COLD. I don't think he quite appreciated the lack of plumbing and having to put on your coat, wellingtons, and in winter take a torch, to go to the toilet, nor that it was an earth closet, no flushing loos. But the house was exceedingly cold and damp and the only heating was from an open fire. No heating upstairs, and when you went from one room to another you often put a coat on. In winter it was perishing, you were nithered, starved (in the Yorkshire sense of the word), and just wore layers and layers of clothes. If you were working outside you wore your oldest clothes, which sometimes might once have been your Sunday best, but had been relegated to market day clothes, and then out in the fields clothes. Clothes were mended and patched, then patched on the patches until they were eventually cut up to make rag rugs for the kitchen stone flagged floor. Certainly farmers wore clothes that were hard wearing, but often very old and tied together with bits of baler band (hairy string), and were encrusted with mud and the bodily fluids of the livestock they handled. My father's cap had a patina made by milking twice a day and leaning his head into the hide of his cows. The character of Compo in "Last of the summer wine" was known as The Scruffy One, and his clothes were holed and patched and tied together with string, but I can remember lots of people like this. They worked on farms, milked cows, picked potatoes, drove tractors that had no cabs, and had to withstand all types of weather. As a school girl I can remember layers of clothes in winter, a serge gymslip with a blouse and a knitted cardigan, on top of that a blazer, and then on top of that a gaberdine mack, not to forget the horrid hat. Top coats were just that, the top layer with many other layers beneath. The history of clothes concentrates on what the great and the good wore, the latest fashions and the very expensive. This is called Lady with a fan and is by Georges Croegaert [1848 - 1923] and is at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. This picture is called The Evening Hour, 1903, and is by William Pratt [1855 - 1936] and is at the Paisley Art Gallery. One highly fashionable, the other practical. Although the hems of the skirts worn by the women coming home from the fields are all muddy. So what DID people wear, the ordinary everyday working people? I am going to explore some descriptions of clothes. Descriptions of ordinary people appeared in newspapers when they were Wanted. Stamford Mercury 8 July 1725 This is to give notice that Samuel Rowell, an apprentice of Thomas Kingston at Thorney Abbey in the Isle of Ely and County of Cambridge, carpenter, went away on the 18th June last. Whoever gives notice of the said apprentice … shall have half a guinea. NB He’s a broad set fellow with a brown bushy head of hair, about five foot eight inches high, a pair of Buck skin Breeches, a Kersie coat, Drab colours, with his hands very full of warts, aged 24 years. NB Be it at their Peril that harbours him. Vincent Orsler, Hostler at the Blew Bell in Peterbrough, Run away from his Master Joshua Bayley on Tuesday the 29th of June last, having dark brown hair, a red face, chew’d tobacco, had on an old gray coat trimm’d with Black, about 5 foot 9 inches high …. Half a guinea reward and reasonable charges. Well here is a pair of buck skin breeches, and very serviceable they look too. This pair were sold at Tennants (Auctioneers) in 2019 for £140. They also look quite comfortable and I imagine would keep out the weather. Kersey was a woollen cloth with a twill or ridges, hard wearing. Drab was a colour, brownish / yellowish. Drab was also a type of cloth which was wool and heavy. The second Missing Person wore an "old" coat, how old we do not know. If it had been of the early 1700s it may have looked like this - The is called "A portrait of a gentleman" by Unknown Artist, at the Laing Art Gallery. The gentleman is wearing a coat on top of a long waistcoat, both decorated with buttons and button holes. Caledonian Mercury 1 November 1736 These give notice to all to seize Daniel Hanna, once servant to the Master of (now Lord) Cathcart and afterwards to William Christy, stabler in the Cowgate and late servant to Alexander Dunbar … from whom he run away with near 400 Guineas. He is a thick set fellow, scarce 5 foot high, swarthy complexion, dark chestnut hair, even down, sometimes trussed up under his Hat, broad faced, shows all his Teeth remarkably when he laughs or smiles; betwixt 25 and 30 years old, wore a blue Bavarian big coat over a blue suit with Brass Button. His Horse was a dark broun Galloway, very little and broad, without any Mark of Mouth, a star on the forehead, the near hind foot white , a little sore on the near Rib, under the saddle. He committed this Villainy 26 October at Annan and who ever seizes him shall have ten guineas reward from John Lock, Master of the Laigh Coffee house, Edinburgh. The big blue Bavarian coat is intriguing. What was an 18th century Bavarian Coat? Perhaps someone knows. Bavarian costume conjurs up images of the Oktoberfest and the ladies in white blouses and dirndls, the gentlemen in lederhosen and short woollen jackets with no lapels. Where had Daniel got his coat from? Had he been to Germany or bought it second hand. There were many mercenary soldiers fighting in European wars once we had Hanoverian kings. Had Daniel been a solider? Was he ever captured? Newcastle Courant 29 April 1769 Run Away from his master on the 10th instant for reason unknown THOMAS HODGSON four feet eight inches high, with straight dark-brown hair, black eyes, is very strong made; had on when he went away, a half worn hat, a black silk handkerchief about his neck, a copper coloured coat, a spotted flannel waistcoat with sleeves, a brown waistcoat without sleeves, a pair of leather breeches, a pair of grey stockings, new shoes, and copper buckles. Whoever will apprehend and secure him so that he may be brought back to his master, THOMAS TURNBULL, Farmer at High Street House near Leaming Lane in the parish of Hornby Castle in Yorkshire, shall receive half a guinea reward and all reasonable charges. Any person that harbours or employs him will be prosecuted. Once Thomas Hodgson had got onto the Great North Road he could have gone anywhere thumbing a lift, north or south. What a good description of his clothes from his head to his feet. The copper buckles on his shoes are an interesting item. As Thomas Turnbull was a farmer this does not strike you as being Agricultural Labourer's attire. There is evidently still a demand for 18th century shoes with buckles from re-enactment groups. Thomas wore a copper coat and a spotted flannel waistcoat with sleeves. Enough to turn the weather. If you were on the outside of a stage coach you would need hard wearing cloth. Flannel was for insulation, It was a woollen fabric with a napped finish, i.e the fibres were brushed up to make it soft and fluffy. Traditonally this was done with teasels. So Thomas had a coat, a sleeved waistcoat and then another waistcoat without sleeves. Plenty of layers. The woollen stockings that came up to the knee were worn by everyone and stocking knitters were an important part of the economy in the dales until longer trousers made them old fashioned. Here is another Wanted advert - Leeds Intelligencer 30 March 1773 Escaped from the Constable of Thornhill as he was conveying him last night through Sandal to Prison. James Stansfield of Pudsey, Clothier, charged with stealing a Grey Mare the property of Isaac Sugden of Bowling near Bradford; he appears to be about 22 years of age, of a middle size, rather thin with dark brown lank hair, fair complexion with two scars on his chin, also a fresh bruise in the inside of his right hand, talks slow, hath or affects to have a down cast demure look. Had on when escaped a Shepherd’s dark grey Coat, with black horn buttons and black cape, under which he had another coat and two waistcoats, one of the waistcoats was a red and white stripped washing one, and a Pair of Dirty Leather Breeches. Whoever will secure the above offender shall receive a handsome reward upon giving notice thereof to the Constable of Thornhill aforesaid. Shepherds would have to have very serviceable clothes and this description was sufficient to make him recognisable. As well as the coat he had a cape, yet another coat and TWO waistcoats. Only one was washable (and I don't think the others were dry clean only). This rather satirical cartoon (from the Lewis Walpole Collection, Yale University, online) is about making one pair of stocking do the business for two. The gentleman with the lower half is calling for his Pantaloons (longer than breeches) and the gentleman with the upper half of the stockings is calling for his boots. Possibly the nearest we have today are the type of stockings worn by those who wear kilts. I actually like knitting socks but I don't attempt anything as complicated are these. Newcastle Courant 7 June 1755 Run away from his master RICHARD STEPHENSON a lad of about 14 or 15 years of age, low stature, short black hair, low forehead and came from Scorton in the County of York. He had on when he went away a black leather cap, stripp’d red and white double breasted Wolsey Waistcoat and a brownish Coat: if any person can secure him and give notice thereof to Mr Michael Richardson at the sign of the Pilot Boat in Stockton, shall be well rewarded for their trouble. Wolsey was mixture of wool and linen, a strong cloth, but in looking at 18th century fashions most were single breasted so the stripped double breasted waistcoat must have been noticeable. In 1814 George Walker published a book called The Costume of Yorkshire. It is a set of forty paintings of men, women and children of a wide variety of occupations going about their everyday work. This is entitled "Lowkers" which I particularly like. They are women weeding arable crops. Before chemical sprays weeds had to be removed by hand, a laborious job in the early summer before the crops grew too high. Both my parents talked about this work and called it "Lewking" or "Lyooking", it was pronounced with a "y" after the "L". Here the women are dressed for outside work, they are wearing many, many layers of old clothes. My mother had to do this job in her Land Army days, and many other back breaking tasks. Going into the crops of corn to remove wild oats was called "Rogueing" and removing thistles with a short shafted tool with a pointed metal end was called "Stobbing thistles". This is George Walker's picture of stone breakers working on a road. This would have been a dirty and dusty job, all done outside. The clothes look very ragged and worn. The comments added to the picture are that when many other laborious jobs were being done by machines this was still entirely done by hand. This picture is of Raddle or Ruddle Miners working at a pit. This mineral was dug out and taken to a mill where it was ground into a powder and then used for paint. Ruddle or Raddle was a red colour. The older fellow was not a soldier, but just wearing an old army jacket much in the same way that I remember people buying old army surplus jackets to wear for outside work in the fields. They were made of good cloth. So, this morning I donned a Very, Very Old Coat, at least 35 years old, for doing a mucky job in the garden (turning the compost heap), and will continue the tradition of Not throwing clothes away until I have absolutely no possible use for them. I will continue the theme of clothes later, but I hope this has given an idea of how people kept out the weather and the cold in days gone by. Until then this is an interesting read which looks at the history of fabric, linen, silk, wool, cotton and man made fibres. I borrowed it from the library and could not put it down. Very readable, it crosses continents with merchants trading in cloth and investigates archaeological discoveries of the very earliest spun threads. It covers the wrappings of mummies in Egypt to modern outdoor clothes for mountain climbing. Highly recommended.
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AuthorThis is where you can share creativity with me. I believe that everyone has something creative within them, and it is a joy to find ways of being creative. Blogging is NEW to me, so here goes ..... Archives
January 2024
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