Welsh hat - WikiHQ

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The Welsh hat () worn by women as part of Welsh national costume is a tall hat, similar to a top hat, or the capotain. It is still worn by Welsh folk-dance women, and schoolgirls, in Wales on St David's Day, but rarely on other occasions.

Two main shapes of Welsh hat were made during the 19th century: those with drum shaped (vertical sided) crowns were worn in north-west Wales, and those with slightly tapering crowns were found in the rest of Wales.

History

The Welsh hat first appeared during the late 1700s; it became widely popular in the 1830s and over 380 examples are known to have survived. The Welsh hat was part of a traditional Welsh costume propagated by Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (1802–1896) but it is unlikely that she had much influence on anyone other than her friends and servants.

The hat may have developed from a number of types of tall hat including the riding hat, which ladies wore during the early part of the 19th century, (as illustrated in the Llanover prints) but no evidence has been discovered which explains why, during the 1830s, the tall hat with the stiff, flat brim, which is unique to the Welsh hat, replaced the other types of men's hat worn by many rural women in Wales at the time.

By the late 1840s the Welsh hat had become an icon of Wales and was used in cartoons to represent Wales as a nation. It brought forward the image of a happy, hearty, healthy, hard-working Welsh woman. It became part of the national identity and was normally worn with the other elements of Welsh costume, especially the gown or bedgown (Welsh: gŵn or betgwn). It continues in use as an icon of Wales in tourist literature.

By the time Sydney Curnow Vosper painted the iconic Salem in 1908, the hat was no longer fashionable, but Vosper still felt the women he painted should wear the now iconic hats. The hat was so rare by the early 20th century that it is thought Vosper could only find one in the local area, and had to share it amongst the models, painting the same hat into the composition four times.

File:Salem painting 1908.jpeg|Sydney Curnow Vosper's 1908 watercolour Salem is one of the most iconic images of Wales. It depicts four women all wearing the same hat. In reality, the "Welsh hat" hadn't been worn for decades at this point, and the artist struggled to even find one for the models to wear.

File:Two Welsh Dragons par zoonabar.jpg|Two fans wearing the Welsh hat at an International Rugby match in Cardiff.

File:The Tug of War - JM Staniforth.png|Cartoon by J. M. Staniforth depicting the Ireland–Wales rugby game of 18 March 1899 as a tug-of-war; the Welsh team wear Welsh hats.

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Battle of Fishguard

thumb|Lord Cawdor, whose successful bluff caused the French to surrender during the War of the First Coalition

During the War of the First Coalition, France attempted an invasion of Britain. During the February 1797 Battle of Fishguard, Colonel William Tate an Irish-American commanding French and Irish troops, landed near Fishguard in Wales.