THE FRAMPTON COWBOYS. As hat making was an established cottage industry in Frampton Cotterell during the early 19th Century it was an ideal place for Christys the famous Hat makers to build a factory in 1812, thus being able to utilise the skills and experience of the local people. Their biggest customers were the sugar plantations in the West Indies as trade in sugar was at its peak during the 1830s. Because the slaves were suffering from over exposure through working long hours in the open fields the owners asked Christys to make a suitable hat to protect them from the scorching sun. As a result they created a wide brim, high crown hat that not only helped solve the problem but was to become one of the most famous and popular hats ever made. The business was so successful that by 1834 the factory employed over a quarter of the residence of Frampton Cotterell and soon became market leaders turning out some 1300 handmade hats per week.This was also a benefit to Bristol as it was then the second biggest port in the country with strong trade links with the West Indies. An American named J.B.Stetson was so impressed with this hat that he decided to copy it and, as a result, in 1865 built his own hat factory on a nine acre plot in Philadelphia and started to turn out copies. According to Stetson he claimed to have invented the hat while on a hunting trip but Christys would have none of it. They had solid proof and well documented evidence that their records showed that the original design was created and made in their hat factory in Frampton Cotterell. England. Christys eventually sued J.B.Stetson and after a long legal battle Christys won and the court ordered Stetson to pay a licence fee to market his hat. The Stetson remains basically unchanged in construction and design since the very first one he made in 1865. To his credit he went on from strength to strength and his hats became so popular in the States that he ended up making some 3 million a year and he even had his name printed on the hatband. They soon became the emblem of the Rootin, Tootin Cowboys, Ranchers and Riders of the Range.They may have been the emblem of the American Wild West but they were originally designed and created in another West, the little village of Frampton Cotterell in the West of England. Christys went on to become the worlds leading hat makers with factories in London and the North making hats of all shapes and sizes and fashions for Royalty, the rich and famous, eventually becoming a multi-million pound industry. Sadly the Christys factory in Frampton Cotterell ended up closing down in 1866 partly due to industrial disputes and the introduction of modern machinery,plus the big problem of many workers showing signs of strange behavior. This was due to the ingredients used in the making of hats including the use of poisonous mercury in confined areas where it was essential that all windows and doors had to be kept closed. This poisonous contaminated air got into the workers lungs and affected them so much that some were seen to be acting weird, or crazy. Thus the expression was born Mad as a Hatter. Another first for Frampton Cotterell. So, to all you Bristol Baabies living in America and keeping in touch with us back home through Bristol Then and Now get in your cars with your Megaphones and Loudspeakers and tell those Yankees in Noo York, Dallas and Little Rock that the Cowboy hat is not a Stetson its a Frampton. You may get arrested for disturbing the peace but not for lying. I have posted three of my own drawings with this story. One of sugar plantation workers of the 1830s wearing their specially made hats, copied by Stetson. The other drawing is of the famous Hollywood actor John Wayne wearing his Frampton which you will see I have carefully written on his hatband, and the third drawing is of the Cowboy legend Buffalo Bill also wearing his Frampton The other is a photo of the listed building in Park Street, Frampton Cotterell, South Gloucestershire, England, where the Ten Gallon Hat was born.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:20:02 +0000
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