Name/Title
Chief constable's ceremonial bicorn hat c1930sEntry/Object ID
189Description
Black coloured bicorn hat with velvet finish and braiding around the edges. There is a wide velvet diagonal band on the right with silver threaded trim and a large silver plated button at the bottom, and beneath this band is a black silk bowThe button is marked with a King's crown inside a laurel wreath. There are silver wire adornments on the front and rear peaks of the hat. The inside is lined with cream coloured silk and there is a white leather headband. The centre of the lining is marked in gold and coloured printing with the maker's mark "Christy London" with a coat of arms.Use
For a chief constable to wear as formal headwear with a ceremonial uniformContext
Prior to the Second World War many chief constables wore elaborate ceremonial uniforms for special occasions and often matched these with ceremonial hats made to a generic design such as the one pictured.
When it came to the museum from Sussex Police, this hat was thought to have been worn by one of the Brighton chief constables and there are photographs of at least Sir William Gentle (served 1901-1920) and Captain Hutchinson (Served 1933 -1956) wearing them. However, in Sussex, the chief constable's of Eastbourne and West Sussex are all known to have worn such hats in the 1930s, and an earlier chief constable of West Sussex is pictured wearing one in 1912. This particular hat could have been worn by any of them.
It differs slightly from another in the collection (item 1098) that is thought to have been used by the chief constable of Eastbourne W.H. Smith, in that it has a silk bow underneath the band on the right side. This and the generally good condition suggests that it was probably used by either Captain Hutchinson, or Ronald Patterson Wilson, who was the chief constable of West Sussex from 1935 until 1964. Given that the museum has Mr Patterson Wilson's ceremonial tunic (item 2179) this hat may well have been his. Although they came to the museum at different times they had both been previously retained for some time by Sussex Police. There is a photograph of Robert Patterson Wilson's hat in the book "West Sussex Constabulary" by Malcolm Barrett ( 2008 page 126) and it looks very much like this one.