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H
A T H I S T O R I E S
For thousands of
years people have always used hats, caps, hoods,
shawls, helmets and other kinds of headgear for a variety of purposes
including: protection, decoration, social status, work and religion
and
social affiliation.
1512. At
the beginning of the Sixteen Century, in the reign of Henry
VIII, an English Government statute of 1512, listed 60,000 people ,
"men, women, maids and children', as engaged in carding , spinning,
stitching, knitting, thicking, dressing, dyeing,shearing and pressing
as part of the making of hats and caps. Ready made imported hats and
caps were causing unemployment and seen as the reason for the poor
'falling into idleness and begging'.
The government banned imports and set prices for home produced caps.
Caps of the finest
Leominster Wool 3s 4d ea. to be marked with an 'L'.
Caps of second class Leominster Wool 2s 6d ea. marked with 'Lr'
Caps of third class Leominster Wool 1s 8d ea.
Caps of fourth class Leominster Wool 1s ea.
Caps of best Cotswold 2s ea.
Fine for over charging 40s per item
The caps above were
knitted caps. Stowes Chronicle quoted in an
article by Kirstie Buckland in Costume states in the time of Henry
VIII:
"..the youthful citizens also took to the New Fashion of flat caps,
knit
of woolen yarn black."
ie young men were wearing black beanie knitted
hats then too.
1529. Various
other statutes passed keeping cap making and selling in
line and trying
to keep out imports.
In 1552 Edward IV a statute forbade the fulling of hats, caps
and
bonnets in fulling mills as producing second rate articles and put
people out of work. Better caps etc were made by fulling them with
'the strength of hands and feet.. '
The following year a hat tax was levied on imported caps and hats with
no one being allowed to buy more than 12 hats at port of importation
.
More than 12 hats incurred a fine of 40s and loss of extra hats.
In 1555 there
were riots in Hereford 15 cappers went to the mayor
protesting at monopoly of master cappers.
Capper became a
surname
Monmouth caps famous during fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
ie Monmouth caps cited in Shakespeare.
Much of this business moved to Bewley in the seventeen century
making caps for home and export. The Bewley caps continued into the
nineteenth century with key markets to sailors and Holland.
Hence perhaps Dutch caps....
1566. A crisis
in too many imported caps and hats gave rise to
legislation that no one was to use any foreign wool for making any hat
or felt unless they had served a hat making apprenticeship. Caps must
be made of wool, knitted , and the black dye must me made of copperas
and gall or wood and madder, not bard or swarfe. ...Caps must be half
thicked in felt stocks to discourage the use of fulling mills for this
purpose.
No man under the rank of knight could wear a velvet hat or cap but had
to stick to wool.
Mayors in cities and corporate towns e.g. Leominster and Hereford were
to search out offenders and punish them. Only 2 apprentices allowed
per
hat maker.
In 1605 James
1 renewed Leominster's charter in 1605 commenting on the
growth of Leominster ...
"in a wonderful manner...as well in wealth as in population , it
doth
flourish: we, intending the better sale and dispersion of the fine wool
produced in that neighbourhood into different parts of our kingdom,
and
being persuaded that the assembly of buyers and sellers of that
commodity there , may be great encouragement of the woollen manufacture
in this kingdom..:"
Monmouth caps were
exported to colonies such as Virginia in USA and
used by sailors. Pocahontas's father was presented with a Monmouth cap.
1662 -1663, 3,619 dozen Monmouth Caps were exported from London
alone,
valued at £4,343.9s.0d
A fulling factory
powered by a watermill in the neighbourhood of the
Priory Cottages nos 2 & 4 formed part of the factory in Leominster.
In 1813 this
was changed to a hat tax stamp. Hats less than 4s paid 3d,
4s to 7s paid 6d, 7s to 12s paid 1s and 12s and up 2s.
Linings - the costly part because they were threatened with
prosecution of the 'utmost severity' if found re-using the same lining
to dodge payment . There was also the practice of pasting shop bill
over the stamp to cover the mark, especially using a cheaper stamp for
a
dearer hat.
The census of 1851
lists five male hatters, and a total of straw hatters
and milliners of 24 most of whom are women in Leominster.
The census lists a straw plaiter from a pauper family, Ann Beth in
Leinwardine.
People kept wearing
hats of all shapes and sizes
1871 Leominster
population 5,863.
1871 Another
Hat Act banning colonial imports which were seen as
damaging the home industry and markets.
1871 census
for Leinwardine lists 3 milliner/dressmakers Ellen Allen,
Eleanor Plant and Elizabeth Meredith. Milliners generally assembled
and trimmed and sold trimmings for womens' hats.
Photographic sources
in Hereford Museum Archives and the Record Office
Archives, in particular the Bustin Collection, show how rare it was
for
people not to wear hats or cover their heads. From the bonnets women
wore in the fields to cake like monstrosity hats with birds,feathers,
flowers
and beads to top hats, bowler hats, caps, tamo'shanters and helmets.
In 1873,
Hereford City Council Watch Committee tendered for police
uniforms included helmets ranging from 7s 3p by R. Norton to 8s 3d
by William Symonds.
In 1914,
a Major Pateshall, 1st Hereford Regiment bought his uniform
in London at Hamburger, Rogers & Co, Military Outfitters, Gold Lace
Manufacturers and Embroiderers to His Majesty's Wardrobe, and paid
£1.8.6 for one khaki forage cap and badge, £1.1.0 for a
gold peak
for blue cap and badge and buttons for blue cap 10s 6d
Much more evidence
exists, in family collections, the Records Office,
Herefordshire Museum study collection, Leominster Museum and the
Wade Dress and Hat study collection at Barrington Hall, near
Leominster.
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