Regency Trivia: Holding up One’s Hair.

For some reason, I decided to make sure my use of “hairpin” was correct and used during the Regency. Imagine my surprise to learn the first written mention of a hairpin was in 1818. Now, we all know that spoken words are frequently used for up to 20 years before anyone writes them down in something that will be preserved. That said, it was interesting. It was then I went down the rabbit-hole. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long one. In 1725, hairpins were called hair-needles. The first mention of a pin for the hair was 1580, when a “bodkin” or big needle was used to keep hair up. In the late 18^th century they were called “skewers.”

Instruments used to hold hair up were made of wood, bone, and metals. Bone hair pins date from to the Romans. Unfortunately, we don’t know what they were called.

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Regency Trivia – 1830’s Corded Petticoat.

Regency Trivia – 1830’s Corded Petticoat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE4M6D2F6MY

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Regency Trivia – The 1830’s Skirt.

Regency Trivia – The 1830’s Skirt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmZVDLE_Ns0&t=21s

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Regency Trivia – 1830’s Sleeves

It is absolutely amazing how much fabric goes into these sleeves. Also note that they are worn with puffers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN_oLoCKKBo&t=36s

 

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Regency Trivia – The 1830s Gown

We rarely mention the 1830’s gowns. So, while I was researching something else (the story of my life) I found a few videos on 1830s gowns and other things. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrX2Qsyy77Q

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Regency Trivia – Guardianship and Marriage

There are a couple of situations, and a lot of fact variations. I’m not going to get into all of them, but feel free to ask questions.

Most young ladies—especially if they had property—had guardians appointed by their fathers in the event of the father’s death. The young ladies would also have trustees. These were not the same people. So we’ll take that case first. I’m also assuming that she is in London for the Season. If a lady was a minor she would have to have the guardian’s permission to marry and, possibly, to receive her dowry. There was a way to avoid the permission by having the banns called. The only problem is that if the lady and her gentleman were trying to be sneaky about it, that wasn’t easily done. Someone was bound to find out and an objection could be made. In the general way of things, the gentleman who wanted to marry her would approach the guardian before he spoke to the lady and request permission to marry her. If the guardian wasn’t around, he would approach whoever was sponsoring the lady and ask how to contact the guardian.

The second case is where the father dies and no guardian has been appointed. The lady would live with a relative or a godparent and either an application would be made to the Chancery court or not. If there was not an appointed guardian, the only way the lady could marry as a minor was in church by having the banns called. Neither a special license nor a regular license would be valid. By custom, the young man would still speak with the guardian.

During the Regency, most gentlemen, particularly those with wives and children, had wills. There are some very famous cases of what happened when one didn’t have a will. One of the cases began in 1798 and ended in 1915 when the legal fees had used up all the money at issue. The three cases I looked at all involved men who were not of the gentry, and had made their own money. I suspect they didn’t have a good understanding of what would happen if they died intestate.

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Regency Trivia – How Boys Learned to Dance

During Regency dancing was an extremely important skill to have. Everyone from the very poor to the very rich learned to dance. The only differences were the types of dances, the way they were preformed, and where they were held.

Boys began learning to dance at young children, about the age of five or six. The same time girls started. As the dances became more complicated—and they were during the Regency—young men had dancing instructors to teach them the steps and refine their skills. There were even children’s “balls” where they could practice.

Two resources are “The Complete System of English Country Dancing,” by Mr. Wilson, a dancing master of the time, and “A Dance with Jane Austen: How a Novelist and Her Characters Went to the Ball” by Susannah Fullerton

 

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Regency Trivia – Scottish Marriages

 

There is a little known fact about Scottish marriages during the Regency. If a couple had a child(ren) before they married, marriage in Scotland would make the previously illegitimate children legitimate.

 

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Regency Trivia – Underwear

 

Here are the words used for underwear during the Regency: Underclothing, under, underdress, and linen were all general terms used for what one wore close to one’s body.

 

Until the 1830s when waistlines began to drop to approximate the natural waist, petticoats were long and as depicted in the third picture. A chemise (also called a shift) could be either long or short. It was worn next to the body under the stays.

 

Unmentionables were actually breeches or trousers. interestingly, a man’s shirt was also considered underwear. It was considered scandalous for a man to not wear something over his shirt. Shirts did not open to the waist, but had either buttons or laces that went part way down. Men could opt to wear drawers (shown below) or merely tuck their shirts under crotch.

 

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Regency Trivia -Marriage Settlements

This post is by Lynne Connolly.

Marriage settlements were not part of Parliamentary law. They were decided by private contract, drawn up by a solicitor (lawyer). Usually they aimed to use the money the woman brought into the marriage to pay for her jointure on widowhood and for the dowries of her daughters in the marriage. The idea was not to cause any encroachments on the main estate, which it was important to keep intact. Her jointure was usually invested in safe things, so that it would have grown to the required amount before the marriage. This would be laid down in the settlement, which was signed shortly before the marriage, by the couple concerned, and if they were underage, by their parents or trustees. There were no legal guardians in this period, but trustees would be appointed to the estate in the event of early death, and a person, usually a lawyer or professional, appointed to administer the legacy. No interested party, i.e. nobody who could benefit from the death of the minor, could be an administrator or a sole trustee, so that means wicked uncles were excluded!

The main estate, which included lands, houses, investments, things like mineral mines, shipping lines and insurance, was sacrosanct. Spending or mortgaging would inevitably diminish the power of the title holder, and the rest of his family. Much of the estate was not owned, it was in an entail – it belonged to the title, and could not be separated from it except under specific circumstances drawn up with the Letters Patent or Letters Writ when the title was created. Many aristocrats built personal fortunes, and they could dispose of them as they wished, but the strong imperative was to build on it and keep it intact. The estate was the power base.

An heiress could bring property and money that would enhance the estate, and that was the central idea behind marriage in this period.

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