Reading the Regency

Mourning - An Introduction

"...at the bottom of Kingsdown Hill we met a gentleman in a buggy, who, on minute examination, turned out to be Dr. Hall—and Dr. Hall in such very deep mourning that either his mother, his wife, or himself must be dead."
[Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 17th May 1799]

Mourning was the time after a person's death when their relatives and friends remembered their departed relative or friend and grieved their loss. Mourning in the Regency period was a more formal convention than it is today, and someone who was mourning a close relative would have been instantly recognisable by their clothes and behaviour.

There were three main types of mourning:

Loss of a loved one - the genuine sorrow for the death of a beloved close friend or relative. The dictionary definition of mourning clothes as the "dress of sorrow" reflects this very personal loss.

Court Mourning - the official mourning required for domestic and foreign royalty, as dictated by the Royal Court.

Society Mourning - the respectful mourning for dignitaries such as Prime Ministers and wartime heroes like Lord Nelson, "in compliance with the customs of the world". It would be the equivalent today of the public grief following the death of a popular musician or actor.

Colours of Mourning

The traditional colour of mourning in Britain was Black. The earliest record of black as a mourning colour dates from the time of King Edward III in the 14th century, although purple and brown were also used at various times.

However, where the deceased was considered an innocent, i.e. infants, children, and young men and women under the age of 21, dying unmarried, the scarves, hat bands and gloves of mourning could also be White.

The whole etiquette of mourning was designed to protect those who had lost a loved one. The sight of black crape was a sure sign of the family being in mourning, without the need for anyone to ask uncomfortable questions.

After a certain amount of time had passed, those in mourning could introduce other colours. A mixture of black and white, or plain grey were most popular, but shades of purple, including lavender, mauve and lilac were also acceptable.

Mourning Dress

"I am to be in bombazeen and crape, according to what we are told is universal here, and which agrees with Martha's previous observation. My mourning, however, will not impoverish me, for by having my velvet pelisse fresh lined and made up, I am sure I shall have no occasion this winter for anything new of that sort. I take my cloak for the lining, and shall send yours on the chance of its doing something of the same for you, though I believe your pelisse is in better repair than mine. One Miss Baker makes my gown and the other my bonnet, which is to be silk covered with crape."
[Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 15th October 1808, on the death of Edward Austen's wife Elizabeth]

The word "mourning" described both the period of time after a death and also the particular clothing worn during that time. So they wore mourning during their mourning. Although everyone wanted to wear clothes that reflected their grief, the business of mourning clothes was something not everyone could afford.

Even in the late 1700s, special clothes for mourning were limited to the aristocracy and gentry. It was an expensive luxury to buy a whole new wardrobe of black; something the majority of the country could not afford. Over time the purchase of special mourning clothes spread to the upper classes and later the more affluent middle classes until, by the end of the Regency period, anyone who could afford to buy mourning would do so.