From our Archives

Last week we had a visit from a researcher, who asked to examine our old school uniforms. So, we pulled out the oldest uniform we have – a pair of 18th century trousers.  These somewhat shabby, patched trousers were found in the summer of 1952 in the roof space of the SW turret during building work.  Originally, three pairs of trousers were found.   Unfortunately, there is no record of what happened to the other two pairs after the 1959 tercentenary exhibition. 

The other objects found included pewter buttons, King William’s 1688 speech to parliament (which is currently away for conservation), a ball of horsehair, private letters and some newspaper cuttings (date range 1699-1724).  With the exception of the ball of horsehair, all these items are still in the archive.   The trousers date from around 1760.  However we can only guestimate this as this style was worn, despite being terribly old fashioned, up until 1808. We are still trying to find out exactly when our uniforms changed to blue.

The trousers, with some trepidation and help from Jules in Development, have been moved into correct storage for preservation.