RIDING BREECHES, Leather

Breeches are leather, lined with chamois leather and with fabric attached to the bottom of each leg to make them ankle-length instead of knee-length. They are close-fitting and have a fly front. Riding breeches became loose-fitting in the 1880s, so this together with the fact that they are partly machine sewn, suggests a date in the 1870s for their manufacture. The box bottoms - stiff extensions below the knee came in about the turn of the century. These appear to be an addition to the original breeches. In contradiction, falls opening rather than fly opening were usual for riding breeches until the turn of the century. Also breeches do not appear to have been made of leather at this time. There is a puff at the back of the waist with two holes on each side to enable the waist to be tightened. There is no cord in there to tighten them with. There are two buttons for braces on each side of the fly at the front, and one on each side of the puff at the back. The waistband at the back is shaped up to a higher section where each button is attached. If the puff were drawn in this would appear as two points. There is a fob pocket at the front on the right hand side closing with a pearlshell button. The breeches are basically cut in two pieces, left and right leg. The bottom of the original leg is finished with a narrow band and has a slit on the outside of each leg. This is closed with four buttons. Below the band is an additional piece of fabric, about 17cm long and made in two pieces with an additional flap to tuck underneath the overlap where it buttons. It has three buttons, but one is missing on each side. The additional fabric appears to be a type of cotton, with a tightly woven appearance on the outside and a feltlike appearance on the inside. There is a strip of brown linen ? around the inside lower edge. The fabric itself is not hemmed A piece of lighter brown cotton ? fabric has been sewn inside the flap. The buttons on the flap are copper. Of the four buttons, only two are the same. The buttonholes are beautifully made. A piece of leather has been stitched all around the buttonhole on the outside of the garment. This has been pulled through the hole and stitched on the inside. All the buttonholes have been made in this manner except the one on the pocket flap and those on the extra pieces added to the bottom of the legs. The remainder of the garment is also neatly handsewn. However the seam attaching the band at the front, the leg seams and the inside fly seam are machine sewn. All of the buttons are copper except for those on the pocket and leg (original part), which are pearlshell. The buttons on the original part of the leg have been moved from their original position, probably to accommodate the alterations. The brace buttons at the back are marked "H.ROBERTS.COOLGARDIE". One of the buttons on the fly is marked "BEST.RING.EDGE". Most of the remainder have a circular serrated pattern. The breeches are lined with chamois leather around the waistband and along the side seams. They are part of a set of hunting pinks passed from the National Trust with no information. The remainder of the set comprises one red jacket (H90/0006), one red waistcoat (H90/0007), and another pair of riding breeches (H90/0004). A label on the waistcoat indicated that the set belonged to Theodore Fawcett, ex 6th Dragoon Guards, later Captain of the Pinjarra Mounted Volunteers. These breeches may have been worn when he was in the British Army, and/or when he was a Volunteer.

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History Collection

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