The History of the Top Hat

On February 17th 1797 John Hetherington was the first gentleman to be seen wearing a Top Hat, supposedly his invention, in a fashionable part of London, probably St James’s.

This rather unspectacular sounding event turned out rather differently Mr Hetherington caused a furore and riot ensued.  Horses bolted, ladies fainted and rotten fruit was hurled.  He was promptly arrested for ‘occasioning a breach of the peace’ and bound over to keep the peace in the sum of five hundred pounds, a fortune then and a considerable sum even now.

Top Hats were originally made of beaver fur, hence the beaver trade and the term re-furbished. In 1830, black Top Hats made out French manufactured ‘silk plush’ became objects of fashion as the carriage trade required a certain level of sophistication. Top Hats were centred in the English towns of London, Luton and Stockport but were soon to be manufactured world wide, with various new styles being created.