Danae Tankard

‘A Pair of Grass-Green Woollen Stockings’: The Clothing of the Rural Poor in Seventeenth-Century Sussex

Abstract This article examines the clothing of the rural poor in seventeenth-century Sussex, considering what men and women wore, what their clothing was made of and where they got it from, drawing on a broad range of documentary sources including legal depositions, probate material and overseers’ accounts. As would be expected, the clothing of this social group was primarily functional, reflecting limited budgets and arduous working lives. But we can see in the choice of fabric colour, trimmings and accessories that men and women were concerned about their appearance and could achieve a measure of social display, at least in their ‘holiday’ clothes. The ways in which the poor acquired their clothes were complex, involving them in overlapping spheres of production and distribution, which included home production and shop-bought ready-to-wear, all accommodated within a range of economic survival strategies.

Defining Death in Early Tudor England

This paper explores concepts of death and dying during the period c.1480 to 1560, drawing on vernacular medical and devotional literature and legal depositions taken in cases brought before the English court of chancery. It looks at contemporary explanations for the physiological processes that caused the bodys death and at the way in which the proximity of death was assessed. For the most part identifying whether an individual was alive or dead was straightforward. However, evidence from legal depositions relating to the death of a mother and child in childbirth reveals that in certain circumstances determining the point of death was more problematic.

‘They tell me they were in fashion last year’: Samuel and Elizabeth Jeake and Clothing Fashions in Late Seventeenth-Century London and Rye

This article examines high fashion culture in late seventeenth-century London and Rye, focusing on the ways that Rye merchant, Samuel Jeake (1652–1699), and his wife, Elizabeth (1667–1736), engaged with the London fashion market at a time when the transmission of fashion styles was still primarily by word of mouth. Both Samuel and Elizabeth were intensely concerned to appear fashionable in provincial Rye. Correspondence between Samuel and Elizabeth and their London relatives shows how fashion information was being communicated between London and Rye and the speed with which clothing fashions changed in the capital. The discussion of Samuel and Elizabeth’s engagement with fashion is framed by an analysis of contemporary satirical literature which takes the supposed obsession of the English with fashion as its theme.

Giles Moore’s Clothes:The Clothing of a Sussex Rector,1656–1679

Abstract This article uses the household account book of Giles Moore, rector of Horsted Keynes in Sussex from 1656 to 1679, to explore clothing production, supply and consumption in rural England in the second half of the seventeenth century. Moore’s detailed record-keeping provides an insight into the supply and acquisition of textiles and clothing, as well as the clothing choices of a well-to-do country parson. A careful analysis of this underused source reveals Moore’s attitudes to shopping and clothing through his selection of shops, trade and craftsmen, his concerns about excessive prices, and his cloth, clothing and accessory choices. The article examines the range of shopping opportunities that were available to Moore and which ones he made use of, arguing that he exercised a high degree of consumer choice, made possible by a well-developed shopping culture. As well as the costs of his own clothing, Moore’s book records expenditure on that of his teenage niece, Martha Mayhew. In contrast to Moore’s...

‘Buttons no Bigger than Nutmegs’: The Clothing of Country Gentlemen, C1660–1715

Abstract This article is about the clothing of country gentlemen in late seventeenth and early eighteenth century England. It begins with an exploration of the London-centric depiction in popular literature of country gentlemen as old fashioned in their manners, dress and lifestyle. It then explores the main elements of male fashion and the role of London in creating and disseminating it. Drawing on surviving clothing accounts, it subsequently offers a detailed analysis of what a number of country gentlemen were wearing during this period, exploring the extent to which they participated in Londons fashion culture and their preferences for London-bought clothing.