The Role of the Ravenscrofts
In the early days, wearing and maintaining a wig wasn’t an easy task. The legal wigs worn in the late 17th and early 18th century were made from black horsehair that needed constant frizzing and curling back into place. Keeping a wig in good condition was a daily chore that involved their being treated with a scented ointment called pomatum, and then liberally powdered.
This in itself caused problems: both the powder and the ointment frequently damaged the clothing of the wearer. To stop this, the tails of a short wig were often tied into a black bag to protect clothing. This dress coat bag, or ‘rosette’ today forms part of judges and Queen’s Counsel ceremonial dress.
Fortunately for society’s wig-wearers, Humphrey Ravenscroft set about designing a low maintenance wig. A talented young man, he patented a wig made of white horsehair that did away with frizzing, curling and powdering. Christened the forensic wig and launched in 1822, Ravenscroft’s design is still the template for barristers’ wigs today. Fuelled by his success, the enterprising young wig-maker turned his attention to improving the full-bottomed wig. It took ten years before his second revolutionary design was made available to the public. But it was time and effort well spent as his forensic full-bottomed wig is still supplied by Ede and Ravenscroft today.
full-bottomed, bar, and bench/tie wig. Also depicted is a wig box.
