Sponsored by
Villager keeps Staithes bonnet-making tradition alive
It is now a dying art form but one determined villager from Staithes is keeping the long standing tradition of bonnet making alive.
I met sole surviving bonnet maker, Ann Lawson to find out more about this local custom.
The fisherwomen's bonnets are an essential part of the village's history, as they were worn by the ladies to support the weights they would have to carry on their heads.
Ann (72) said: "Because of the weights the fisherwomen carried on their heads, the bonnets had a double crown.
"Apart from their normal domestic chores, the women had to go collecting mussels off the scaurs, carrying them back home in heavy baskets balanced on their heads."
Carrying the baskets in this way meant that the ladies all developed very good posture.
The bonnets were part of the fisherwomen's working dress, along with long skirts, cotton or hessian aprons and large woollen shawls to keep them warm.
Staithes is the last of the fishing villages to continue to produce bonnets long after the fishing trade went away.
Ann said: "Staithes kept the tradition going a lot longer than others, we were the last place."
A widowed fisher woman would wear a black mourning bonnet for at least one year after her husband's death, when she could then wear a lilac coloured one for another year.
Ann explained that it was commonplace to see very young widows whose husbands had drowned while away at sea.
However, bonnets were never worn on Sundays, as Ann explained: "They were put to one side, as they did not fish on Sundays.
"Ladies would proudly wear hats."
Ann has been creating the headgear since she moved to the village with her husband Terry and four children 42 years ago, and said that she gains a lot of comfort from the pastime.
She was taught the hobby by village residents Harriet Adamson and Patience Calvert when they gave her patterns and showed her how to use the material.
Each bonnet takes around one hour to make, and uses one yard of cotton material, one yard of cotton tape and wadding, with children's bonnets using three quarters of a yard.
A drawn up piece of tape inside means the bonnets are adjustable and so can fit to any size head, but Ann explains that there is a knack to tying them securely, and there is a decorative bow at the back of each bonnet.
Ann and Terry have run The Gift Shop in Staithes for more than 30 years, where Ann's bonnets are proudly on display under the name of Ann's Maid.
Around 20 years ago Ann ran an evening class for Staithes ladies to learn traditional skills.
"They all made a bonnet and knitted a fisherman's jumper," she added.
The traditional bonnets have become used for other purposes in recent times, as some of Staithes Lifeboat Guild wear them on special occasions and Ann has received requests for bonnets to be worn by cancer patients recovering from chemotherapy and for babies bonnets.
They are also often used as decorative items now.
People like them in the house for special occasions," she said. "They make a lovely sun hat, with a broderie anglaise frill and smocking.
"They are no longer a working hat."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Whitby
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
