Object number
57/132/1-2
Description
This smock was made in 1880 for the donor's father, the Rev. Frank Bullock Webster, of Stanway, Gloucestershire. It was made in Radnorshire, Wales, where Rev. Bullock Webster was originally from. It is a coat style smock, open to the hem, with 9 bone buttons at the front. It has finely pleated cape pieces over the shoulders. There is embroidery all over the smock, mostly in feather stitches and rows, but also with flower motifs on each side of the front. It has a matching red and gold muffler scarf, in a paisley design.
Physical description
1 smock: natural twilled cotton; cream thread; bone buttons; good condition
Label Text
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>6. <B>Coat-type smock with elaborate embroidery</B><P>This smock was made in 1880 in Radnorshire, Wales for a local clergyman. His occupation, coupled with the fact that he never wore it, bears testament to the changing nature of the smock as a rural garment in the later nineteenth century. No longer was it simply a worker?s overall. It was becoming more a symbol of rural identity, as set against the fashions of urban society. Maggie Hall tells of a traditional countryman who, in 1887, was so appalled by the new coat his city-dwelling daughter had bought him to replace his Sunday smock, that he preferred to walk around the local village in just his shirt sleeves.<P>The above coat-type smock is laden with decorative embroidery using both feather and open chain stitches. The design includes petal shapes and open scrolls stitched to form large motifs, with feather stitching decorating the collar, cuffs and pocket flaps. It also boasts a pronounced collar with tucked ?cape? sections falling over the shoulders. Despite its being made of heavyweight cotton twill - the fabric normally used for working smocks - such an elaborate design would probably deter its use on a farm for fear of it being ruined. Inappropriate and uneccessary decoration on what was supposed to be a functional item of country clothing spurred H. J. Massingham, in his 1939 book <I>Country Relics</I>, to deridingly refer to their wearers as ?warbling Arcadians?.<P>57/132</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Archival history
Citation in publication [Oliver, Tina, 'Smocks: A Guide to the Collections' (Reading: The University of Reading, 2000)] – 'An interesting smock made in 1880 in radnorshire, Wales, for the donor's father, a native of radnor and a clergyman, but never worn. Made of a heavy weight cotton twill fabric, the coat type amock has a wide 'peter pan' collar with rounded front edges and large, embroidered and tucked'cape' sections set underneath and falling over the shoulders. The garment is elaborately embroidered with feather and open chain stitches; the design includes petal shapes and open scrolls stitched to form large motifs. Single rows of featherstitch decorate the collar, cuffs and pocket flaps. The smock is well made and in good condition. // A red and gold paisley muffler made to wear with the smock is also in the RHC collection. (57/132.2) // A smock similar in style to 57/132, also made in Radnorshire, in included in The Countrymen's Smocks in the Welsh Folk Museum, Iled E Anthony, a booklet reprinted from the Winter 1974 Bulletin in the National Museum of Wales.' p.15, MERL ‘Associated information’ form – 'Smock [Radnor] 1880 // Description [...] Never used. Made for her father Rev. Frank Bullock Webster of Stanway, Glos. a native of Radnor. // [pencil sketch] // Capes // Opens like a jacket // In the pocket is a red and gold muffler scarf made to wear with the smock. Paisley design.', MERL Catalogue Form (temporary) – 'Condition: good // Material(s) natural twilled cotton, cream thread, bone buttons // total length; 127cm // collar depth; 13cm // capre pieces depth; 25cm // place made; Wales Radnorshire // made for donor's father; Rev. Frank Bullock Webster // Notes: Description: handsewn; style: coat, frock, open to hem, 9 bone 4 hole buttons at front, narrow back panel, yoke and lower part of sleeves lined, cape pieces over shoulders with 4 fine pleats at outer edge; collar: round [page break] shawl falling over cape pieces, cuffs: straight bands, bone 4 hole buttons - one on each cuff, one on each sleeve above cuff; pockets: set in at sides, flaps with one [?] edge; tubing: outline, cable and points, back - 32 rows, front (each side of opening) - 33 rows, sleeves - top - 4 rows, sleeves above cuff - 11 rows; embrodiery: collar - feather stitch 2 rows, cape pieces - feather stitch, open chain, large 4 petal flower motif (2 on each side) with vertical rows on pleats and edge, back nech (square below collar) - open chain, scrolls and short lines, sides of tubing - feather stitch, vertical row, shoulders - feather stitch 2 rows, cuffs - feather stitch, 1 row. // History: made in Radnorshire for donor's father, the Rev. Frank Bullock Webster, of Stanway, Gloucestershire because he was a native of Radnor [donor] // Sheet 2 of // cuffs depth; 4cm // pocket flaps ht x w; 6.5 x 20cm // tubing back ht x w; 31 x 26cm // Sheet 3 of // tubing, front, each side ht x w; 31 x 10cm // tubing sleeves, top ht x w; 5 x 2.5cm // tubing, sleeves, above cuff ht x w; 12.5 x 9.5cm // hem circumference; 204cm'
Production place
Radnorshire
Production date
1880 - 1880
Object name
Material
Technique
Dimensions
- Length 1270 mm
- Circumference 2040 mm
Associated subject
Associated period
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2780.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2781.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2782.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2783.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2786.tif - High resolution image