tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post6553138122776448908..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Atherstone, WarwickshirePhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-32986759016565169502022-09-19T20:47:41.849+01:002022-09-19T20:47:41.849+01:00Speaking from the other side of the pond, in the U...Speaking from the other side of the pond, in the USA it is generally considered JFK’s election and his shunning wearing a hat (due I think to his youth as a very young president and genetics, he had a great head of hair) the American people emulated a lot of the First family’s fashion queues both men and women. So it is generally thought 1961 was the last big hat year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-46395473975087406722021-01-13T11:23:04.479+00:002021-01-13T11:23:04.479+00:00Tony Stafford: Thank you! Your comment is just the...Tony Stafford: Thank you! Your comment is just the sort of thing that makes blogging worthwhile. You obviously did well to keep the business goiung for as long as you did. I'll save that link for viewing later today – it might even become the basis for a follow-up post. Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-28246025283628822212021-01-13T11:16:13.915+00:002021-01-13T11:16:13.915+00:00Sadly, it fell on my shoulders to be the last Chai...Sadly, it fell on my shoulders to be the last Chairman of Wilson & Stafford before it closed in 1999. We considered many options to keep the business running, but the fate of large English hat-making companies had already been determined by fashion trends and cheap imports. After twenty years of decay, I understand the buildings are now about to be demolished and the site used for housing.<br /><br />In 1995, we closed our wool felt making department - the last such manufacturer in the UK. Just before then, an evocative film was made to show some of the many processes involved in hat production. I can still smell the wool and the steam.<br /><br />The link for your readers is here https://youtu.be/hQR7vxTOJnw<br /><br />Tony Stafford January 13th 2021Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05641669732153866100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-54775410367993608002016-01-09T16:17:35.467+00:002016-01-09T16:17:35.467+00:00Judy: Thank you so much for your informative comme...Judy: Thank you so much for your informative comment. It's pleasing that there's a scheme in the pipeline to convert the building and give it a new use. I'd not realised the building was listed (I failed to find a listing when I looked it up in 2011 – bit that was probably my own oversight).Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-23960040558074955862016-01-09T15:55:48.163+00:002016-01-09T15:55:48.163+00:00I've just seen your piece on the Wilson and St...I've just seen your piece on the Wilson and Stafford hat factory in Atherstone. The building is Listed grade II but is in a far worse state than when you photographed it in 2011. However, there is a glimmer of light as a planning application has been submitted to convert it to residential use with, what we at Atherstone Civic Society believe, is a very good scheme. However, it will involve demolition of some of the less attractive elements. <br /><br />Anyone interested in the Atherstone hatting industry can find these histories on Amazon - Warwickshire Hatters (Judy Vero & Ian Beesley,1989), Hatting and the Bracebridges of Atherstone (Judy Vero,1995), Atherstone a Pleasantly Placed Town (ed. Margaret Hughes and Nat Alcock, 2008). Also a novel, Hatters' Town (Judy Vero, 2016), set in the 18th century, available as a download only for 99p. Judy Veronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-5288056152182220172011-11-22T07:58:14.622+00:002011-11-22T07:58:14.622+00:00Thud: Indeed. Michael Bywater, in the book I menti...Thud: Indeed. Michael Bywater, in the book I mention in the post, says that in his experience only in parts of the USA and in Australia do you regularly see men wearing hats, together with hat shops, which are there because in these places hats are something 'that you <i>need</i>'.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-46701662557705941352011-11-21T22:34:51.503+00:002011-11-21T22:34:51.503+00:00Other than the ever present baseball cap, hat wear...Other than the ever present baseball cap, hat wearing in England seems to now be the preserve of the brave and the eccentric by and large. At home in America I can wear any number of hats and nobody bats an eye, I take advantage.Thudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320037763190473684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-2637007801293398612011-11-17T08:12:00.666+00:002011-11-17T08:12:00.666+00:00James: I'm not sure what led to the demise of ...James: I'm not sure what led to the demise of the hat. They were widely worn in the 1950s, but not quite so widely as before the war, so that might have something to do with it. Then perhaps the sartorial and social upheavals of the 1960s delivered the coup de grace.<br /><br />Hair? It's greatly overrated, I'd say!Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-88156578410622015852011-11-17T06:53:17.527+00:002011-11-17T06:53:17.527+00:00Fascinating post, Philip. I've worn a hat for ...Fascinating post, Philip. I've worn a hat for years (not having much in the way of hair!) and have always rather yearned for the days of universal hat-wearing. Was it World War II that killed off the hat? It was probably quite liberating for men at the time...James Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03199461104138671799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-89467580900164689562011-11-16T08:35:41.388+00:002011-11-16T08:35:41.388+00:00Bazza: Great story about the straw hats. You don&#...Bazza: Great story about the straw hats. You don't see too much of this traditional school headgear these days.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-7702885312306546282011-11-15T22:57:23.038+00:002011-11-15T22:57:23.038+00:00Even if a building is not pretty there is usually ...Even if a building is not pretty there is usually a good story to be told. My daughters wore straw boaters as part of their Summer uniform at school. On their last day before leaving they were encouraged to throw them in the air and then stamp on them!<br /><a href="http://todiscoverice.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’</a>bazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794010156639774028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-28240120849769370192011-11-13T19:46:11.598+00:002011-11-13T19:46:11.598+00:00Thank you, Jack. That's a charming, and subtle...Thank you, Jack. That's a charming, and subtle, piece of work. Surrealism and the cinema were always close, I suppose, and as someone who spends a lot of time in the Czech Republic, where surrealism never really died, I'm happy to see it blossoming again here in this mixture of cinema and performance.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-89706836730855344782011-11-13T18:47:45.582+00:002011-11-13T18:47:45.582+00:00If you like both hats and black and white films, w...If you like both hats and black and white films, watch <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/19120718" rel="nofollow"> this superb video artwork by People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz. Saw it performed live at Birmingham's Flatpack Festival this year and it's a delight</a><br>Jack Kirbyhttp://twitter.com/jdk653noreply@blogger.com