Clothing - Page 2 of 2

The most complete woollen garment identified is a jerkin. This was decoratively edged with a green silk braid and fastened with four woollen buttons. Discovered inside this jerkin were large fragments of woollen fabric, dyed yellow and checked in red, possibly the remains of a shirt. A large woollen fragment with stitched eyelet holes for the attachment of laces may be the waist area of a pair of hose. Several small fragments found inside shoes or boots may also be the remains of woollen hose.

Three woollen knitted hats resembling flat brimmed berets have been recovered. Two of these are intact and have silk linings. Another knitted item recovered virtually complete is a scogger, a versatile sleeve rather like a modern legwarmer that could be worn either on the arm or lower leg.

Velvet and silk were generally recovered only in small fragments, threads, braids or ribbons. Many of these are probably trimmings from garments worn by individuals of high rank. An exciting discovery was a complete velvet hat, the seams trimmed with silk, that was found within the cabin of the Barber Surgeon.

It bears a close resemblance to the head coverings worn in a contemporary painting of Henry VIII and the Guild of Barber Surgeons, painted by Hans Holbein in 1540.

An incomplete hat (made entirely of silk) in the same style was recovered from the upper deck.

Several types of fastenings were recovered, including 'set's of ornate buttons, which are spherical, hemispherical or pear-shaped and covered in red or green silk. Simple buttons of wool, silk or leather have also been identified. Copper alloy aiglets were rolled around the ends of laces to prevent fraying and ease the process of lacing garments or shoes. Metal buckles of varying sizes were used to fasten belts, shoes and armour.

It is not possible from the finds alone to create a complete 'picture' of the clothing worn by the men on board the Mary Rose. For example, linen was probably used in the manufacture of many of the shirts and breeches and this material has not survived. Despite this, in conjunction with written and visual sources, the collection has given us an important insight into the everyday clothing of the period.

There is evidence of clothes having been mended. One of the jerkins extensive repairs around the armhole and we have a number of thimbles and thread bobbins. "Make and mend" must have been as important in the Tudor navy as it is today.

 

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