Monmouth cap, 16th century

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There were cap makers in Monmouth in 1449, but the knitted-cap industry in the town flourished under the Tudors. The earliest surviving example of the use of the term 'Monmouth Cap' is in a letter dated 1576. By this time the Monmouth industry was at its height, but other towns had taken up the manufacture, encouraged by legislation protecting the knitted woollen cap industry throughout the sixteenth century. Monmouth caps were essential equipment for seventeenth century soldiers and sailors, although they were no longer made in Monmouth.

Monmouth caps were so familiar and widely used that they were taken for granted. Everyone knew what was meant by a 'Monmouth cap', so there was no need to describe it in writing. We can be sure, from the few references we have, that they were knitted, brown in colour, round in shape, with a 'button' on top.

The hat shown here is believed to be an original Monmouth cap, the only surviving example, dating from the sixteenth century.

Source:

Display boards, Nelson Museum & Local History Centre.

Gathering the Jewels ref: GTJ01788

Nelson Museum & Local History Centre

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