Welsh Wig

The Welsh Wig or Welch Wig was a knitted woollen cap popular in the 19th century. A simple round cap, the Welsh Wig had a distinctive long back of soft wool to keep the neck warm, which often approximated the appearance of long curly hair.

Welsh Wig

Type	Cap
Material	Wool
Place of origin	Wales, United Kingdom

Background

The Wool Industry was an important part of Welsh life throughout history. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries areas like Monmouthshire and West Glamorgan were famous for quality wool, and Wales gained an international renown for high quality woollen products such as caps. This reputation saw a vast increase in trade and Welsh woollen goods found new export markets throughout Northern Europe.[1]

Welsh goods during this era were produced on an semi-industrial scale, with varieties of woollen caps, such as the iconic Monmouth Cap being obvious progenitors to the Welsh Wig. Though it is unknown how early the distinctive Welsh Wigs began production, they were well known throughout Great Britain by the eighteenth century.

Development

The Welsh woollen industry was in sharp decline by the early nineteenth century, with the newly industrialised woollen mills of Northern England now dominating the British market and fluctuations in European trade of the Napoleonic Era proving particularly challenging.

The decline was reversed when the new industrial populations of Wales demanded specific woollen goods for working life in the mid-late nineteenth century. The Welsh Wig, the Crys Fach (a short fronted metallurgical workers shirt), coal miners underpants, shawls, bedgowns and the newly popularised Traditional Welsh costume, all maintained and grew the Welsh wool industry. [2]

Popularity

The Welsh Wig was prized for its excellent protection against the elements, providing a shield against the wind on the back of the neck. With the decline of traditional wigs, there was a market for knitted head wear throughout the British Empire. The Welsh wig became associated not only with workers but also with stagecoach travellers, polar and mountain explorers and was part of the "kit list" for men in The Crimea.[3]

In Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol the character Mr Fezziwig is described as wearing A Welsh Wig. His name is also likely an allusion to the garment.

See also

• Monmouth Cap
• Mr Fezziwig
• Woollen industry in Wales

References

1. Carlson, Jennifer L. "A Short History of the Monmouth Cap".
2. "Economic History and Material Culture – Margot Finn, John McAleer, Pat Hudson". History AFTER Hobsbawm.
3. "Economic History and Material Culture – Margot Finn, John McAleer, Pat Hudson". History AFTER Hobsbawm.