Top Hat

Back in February I posted a picture of me wearing this top hat for a play I was in a few years ago. Today I was giving the box a dust before it went back in the wardrobe, and realised that the container for the hat was more interesting than the contents.
The box is from “Woodrow & Sons, hat manufacturers to the King”. This particular hat was dispatched from their Liverpool shop to “Sir J H Roberts MP, Abergele”. He was a Welsh Liberal MP for the area from 1892 to 1918 and later created the first Baron Clwyd. His father was also an MP and the family made their money from a timber business in Liverpool. Interesting that a 4d stamp was all the postage required! The stamp shows George V so this box must have been sent sometime between 1910 and 1919 (when Roberts was elevated to the peerage)
Despite Mrs C’s paternal grandmother being a Roberts by birth, we don’t think there is any connection to the posh family. Roberts is not exactly an uncommon surname if your family is from the England/North Wales borders.
Unfortunately, a closer examination of the hat that lives in this box reveals that it is not one of Messrs Woodrows products. Instead it is from Walter Bernard & Son Ltd of Jermyn St., London. A fine object, but probably nowhere near as old as the box it lives in. As we discovered this hat whilst clearing out the in-law’s house, it will continue to be a mystery as to why it was in their possession and why there is a mismatch between box and content. Best guess is that, as Mrs C’s father dabbled in antiques, this was something he may have bought in a house sale or auction for a few pounds, hoping to sell it on in due course.
Whatever the story, the box has survived over 100 years and is a snapshot of the time. The hat may be a bit newer but it is in great condition and fits me perfectly. I doubt I will ever be invited to Buckingham Palace but, as long as there are plays set in Victorian times to be performed, I should still have plenty of opportunities to wear it in the future.