Archaeological Journal. DECEMBER, 1890. PICTURE BOARD DUMMIES AT THE COUNTY HOTEL CARLISLE.1 By R. S. FERGUSON F.S.A. (Chancellor of Carlisle.) Some of the members of the Institute, who attended the successful meeting at Carlisle in 1882, may recollect two Picture Board Dummies, or life sized figures of grenadiers, which were exhibited in the temporary museum then formed. These figures are painted on planks or boards joined together, and are cut out, or shaped to the outline, like figures cut out of cardboard. They are the property of the County Hotel Company, Carlisle, and, as they usually occupy positions on the main staircase of the hotel, they are well known to travellers to and from the north, and enquiry is often made at the office, as to who and what they represent. The usual answer is that these figures represent two of the Duke of Cumberland's guards, and that they are in some way or other relics of the campaign of 1745. That these figures are of an earlier date, and that they represent grenadiers of the 2nd or Queen's regiment of foot, now the Royal West Surrey regiment, we hope presently to show meanwhile we propose to give a detailed account of the uniforms, accoutrements, and arms, distinguishing the figures as Nos. 1 and 2. No. I. No. 1, a grenadier, total height to top of the tuft or pompon of his mitre shaped cap, 7 feet 3 inches: as the cap is one foot 5 inches high, and covers the forehead down to the top of the line of the eyebrows, the wearer is 5 feet 10 inches in height to that line, and must be at least 6 feet 2 inches in total height, particularly as he stands with his feet 18 1 Read at the monthly meeting of the Institute, May 1st, 1890. VOL XLVII (No. 188). 2 s inches apart, which was at the date of these figures the position of attention. He is dressed in a long broad skirted red coat, piped, or edged with white, now turned by age, or varnish, into yellow: the piping is nearly inch in breath. His chest, down to his waist belt, is covered by a plastron of green cloth, piped or edged as the coat: it has six buttons on either side, set two and two at the ends of loops of white piping, nearly 21 inches long. The buttons are plain, and whether of yellow or white metal, it is difficult now to say. The coat has large deep cuffs of green, slit below the arm, and piped or edged as the coat: each cuff is 9 inches in depth below the arm, and 6 inches above it: each has a row of buttons (four are shown) near the upper edge of the cuff, going round the arm: parallel to the piping is an ornamental band, a broad white stripe between narrower stripes of white and green. There are pockets in the front of each coat skirt covered by immense pentagonal flaps, each nearly a foot in breath by 10 inches in depth, and ornamented with two rows of the same ornamentation as on the cuffs. One of these pocket flaps is well seen the other is almost covered by the buff leather pouch presently to be described. Below the waist belt, the upper parts of the skirts are buttoned together by two buttons, set at the end of loops as on the plastron: the lowest of these buttons is about six inches below the waist belt.1 The coat is cut low at the neck, and there, and at the wrists, the shirt is well in evidence. A cravat goes round the man's neck, and its twisted ends (as seen in the other figure) hang down in front, but are concealed in this case by the grenadier's hands and fusil. The breeches are covered by the skirts of the coat, but will be either green or red Cannon's Historical Records of the 2nd foot show that in 1685 that regiment wore green breeches, and in 1741 red ones.2 The stockings are white, and drawn over the knees, and so over the ends of the breeches, or venetians, as Grose calls them 3: they are gar. tered below the knee, and apparently rolled over at the tops. The garters are either black or green. The stockings are actual stockings, not leggings such as the grenadiers and drummers wear in Hogarth's "March to Finchley", and "England", as proved by the white strap going under the foot, distinctly visible in these pictures. In the case of these dummies there is no foot strap, and the stockings go inside the coverings of the feet, which are ankle jack boots.* 1 Three buttons are visible in this posi tion on the second figure: probably the number is four, set two and two, the upper ones being concealed by the hands, belts, etc. 2 In a series of 286 coloured drawings illustrative of the Complete History of the British Standing Army from 1660 to 1700 drawn by Colonel Clifford Walton, C.B., and exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition 1890 Royal Hospital Chelsea (No. 1940 in the catalogue) a figure representing a soldier of the Queen's regiment wears green breeches. I do not know Col. Walton's authority for his very interesting drawings. Cannon for his regimental records took his pictures of uniform from a coloured book in the British Museum. This book has not been published, but is The mitre-shaped cap, 1 foot 5 inches high, is of red cloth with a green flap or frontlet over the brow. The tuft on the top is apparently green, but ages of varnish have made the paint almost black. On the frontlet is the figure of a lamb, not a paschal lamb, but a plain lamb, with a tail like a fox's brush. Round the edge of the frontlet is the motto :- PRISTINÆ VIRTUTIS MEMOR. Above the frontlet is the feather badge of the Princess of Wales, and above that again a crown. The accoutrements consist of waist belt of buff leather: a sling from the front of this carries the sword and bayonet: a second sling from the back must be required to further support the sword. A buff leather pouch, about one foot square, hangs on the right front by a cross belt which passses over the left shoulder, and comes outside of the waist belt. This cross belt has a plain buckle in it about the level of the waist belt. From the second figure we find it has another buckle at the level of the shoulder: we do not at present see the object of two buckles in one cross belt. The pouch is plain, that is to say it has not the royal cypher and crown displayed, as on the pouches of the guardsmen in "The March to Finchley in 1745": at that date the cross belt of the pouch passes underneath the waist helt and not outside of it, as may be seen by reference to the plate in Cannon's Historical Records of the 2nd foot: see also figure of a Grenadier of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, reproduced in the Archæological Journal vol. xxiii. from "The Grenadiers' Exercise of the Grenado in His Majesty's First Regiment of Foot Guards," by Bernard Lens. The date of this figure is 1735. The arms consist of fusil with buff leather sling, socket bayonet, and basket hilted sword, which last hangs in slings from the waist belt at the left side. The bayonet is carried in front of the left thigh (a very awkward position one would imagine) by the foremost sword sling, passing through a loop, we fancy, on its inside. In the pictures just referred to, sword and bayonet are carried in a double frog at the left side slung from the waist belt. The fusil is a snaphance, or flint lock, with bright barrel. The position is not known to the present manual and platoon exercise: the feet are separated by about 18 inches:1 the butt of the fusil rests on the ground, barrel to the right, lock to the front. The hands rest, palms downwards, right hand uppermost, on the muzzle of the fusil, elbows squared level with the shoulders, head slightly turned to the right. The pouch will contain three grenades, and probably the cartridges for the fusil, unless they are in one of the coat pockets. The grenadiers of the footguards in 1684 carried a cartouch box and a "Granada pouch." See A General and compleat List Military, &c., of that date, printed in Appendix X. to Grose's Military Antiquities, first edition. The face is clean shaven and seems to be a portrait, the hair is close cut at the sides of the head; what it may be behind it is impossible to say. 1 The English Army did not,in the 17th century and the early part of the 18th century, bring their heels together at attention see the plates in Grose's Military Antiquities, Exercises for pike, musket, halbert, &c. Standing at attention with the heels closed, was introduced from Prussia about the middle of last century. No. II. No. 2, a grenadier. originally of the same height, 7 feet 3 inches, as No. 1, but it has lost its feet, and stands only 7 feet high. The figure is uniformed, accoutred, and armed exactly as the other. The fusil is slung on the back, and is not visible with the exception of its sling, which passes over all, i.e., outside of waist belt and cross belt. The barrel of the fusil should appear over the right shoulder, but has been broken off. The right arm is extended downwards at the right side, knuckles outwards, and holds a grenade. The left arm is doubled at the elbow, left hand in front of the centre of the body, knuckles to the front; head a little to the left. The basket hilt of the sword appears at the left side. Like the other, the face is clean shaven and seems a portrait. Little is known of the history of these two figures: they were brought in 1853 to the County Hotel by Mr. Breach, from the Bush Hotel when he moved, as landlord, from one house to the other. The Bush Hotel was a famous place in the coaching and posting days: how these figures came there no one seems to know, but there they had been as long as memory of them runneth. The late Lord Lonsdale (Earl St. George) professed to have found at Lowther Castle, some memoranda shewing that these figures were made from the wood of a tree grown in Lowther Park. It is to be feared that this clue to their history is now lost. The lamb and the motto Pristina virtutis memor.' clearly identify these figures as belonging to the Queen's or 2nd regiment of foot, now the Royal West Surrey regiment the tall caps identify them as belonging to the grenadier company. The limits of time are defined by the feather badge on the caps, which this regiment carried from 1714 to 1727: during this period the regiment was styled "The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment of Foot", and bore the feather badge. The figures are thus identified as grenadiers of the Queen's or 2nd regiment of foot, between the years 1714 and 1727. From Cannon's His 1 The motto, Pristine virtutis memor was given to the Queen's regiment for gallant conduct at the reduction in 1703 of Tongres on the Saar in Limburg, Belgium, when the regiment was forced to surrender after an obstinate defence of 48 hours, but was made Royal. Sir Sibbald Scott, The British Army, vol iii, 436. 2 On the 1st August, 1714, George I not having a Queen Consort available, the regiment (the Queen's) was called after his daughter-in-law "The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment of Foot." When she came to share the throne on the death of George I, in 1727, its appellation was again changed to "The Queen's Own Regiment of Foot." Sir Sibbald Scott, The British Army, vol. iii, p 437. |