Our Village's Floral Hat Festival

Our village, together with a few others in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, had a very long hat-making history and the industry became so vibrant in the 19th century that our local area had 600 people involved with it. To celebrate, the Flora Friends of the village organised this community event and here are some of the displays to show the creativeness of the villagers and also the love and interest that villagers still have for hat making 140 years after the industry died here.

 

A closer look at some of the hats on display


Christys had its operations in the village from roughly 1810 until it moved to Stockport in 1870s

 

What charming entries!!! Clearly the village took it all to heart and pulled off a stunning array of entries!

Thank you for posting such a wonderful event and adding those tidbits of history which gives the event so much meaning.

I really love the creativity of the event and most especially the theme.

 

Hi Hsuh. I am not a hat lover (t'other half wears them ALL the time sometimes to my dismay) but I do particularly like the crochet flapper style by Deborah Reynolds. I was brought up in Luton in the late 50s/early 60s and it was known for it's hat industry. I remember my cousin making an Easter bonnet each for my sister and me.

Thanks for sharing, brought back some sweet memories.

 

Your words summarised my feeling precisely when I saw the displays. So many hidden talents around us!! And so much love for our heritage and history!!

Yes, memories ....

Some of the old people in the village still remember their grandparents working in the hat industry. So our local history club talked to these people, researched into old records and archives, concluding that the hat making started somewhere around 1530s to 70s in the area.

Here are a few illustrations of felt making from the talk the local historians gave during the Hat Festival.

Separation of fibre with a bow


At felting kettle (a unsavoury brew of steaming sulphuric acid, urine and mercury)


Joining the batts into felt hoods


The cottage industry kept more or less unchanged for the next 300 years. When Christy wanted to mechanise the process locals rejected it, as a result Christy moved to Stockport and the hat industry finally died out locally at the beginning of 20th century.

Unhealthy as the hat-making process was: fibres clogging the respiratory system, acid and mercury in the kettle, (hence the saying 'as mad as a hatter') ..... the village looks back at its history with proud and fond memories.