English Boys' Clothes during the 1890s: The Tennysons and Allinghams


Figure 1.--This watercolor by Helen Allingham was probably painted in the 1890s, it portrays Tennyson's grandchildren and perhaps Allingham's son Henry. The two children in smocks are probably boys, although the older child is difficult to identify with certainty. Looking at a blow up of the painting carefully I see the older child is wearing a long dress which would suggest that at that age it is a girl. A HBC reader is unsure about this. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Tennyson's son Hallam married and had children. I have no details on the children or details on their upbringing. They appeared to have lived together with their paternal grandparents. Few details are available on the clothes they wore. I do not know if they wore tunics like their father. They do seem to have worn smocks.

A watercolor probably painted in the 1890s by Hellen Allingham appears to shows children wearing smocks. HBC speculates that the charming painting portrays Tennyson's grandchildren and perhaps Allingham's son Henry. The two children in smocks are probably boys, although the older child is difficult to identify with certainty. Looking at a blow up of the painting carefully I see the older child is wearing a long dress which would suggest that at that age it is a girl. A HBC reader is unsure about this. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

A HBC reader is not sure that we are right in our assessment of the Allingham painting. Our reader indicates that he is curious about the identity of the children in Allinghams painting "bubbles". I think the date of the painting is incorrect. Tennyson's grandchildren were born at a later date: Lionel in 1889 and Alfred in 1891. If the date of the painting is 1894 the older boy would be almost 5 and the younger boy 2, which fits the two younger children in the painting. That leaves Henry as the older child. If the painting was made in 1894 Henry would be 13 years old. Surely too old to be wearing long hair and a dress. However, the painting is not a photograph. She could have painted Henry as he looked at an earlier age. This painting represent the innocense of childhood and a boy of 13 in knickers may not in her mind have fit that image.



HBC






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Created: July 27, 2001
Last updated: 6:09 PM 1/11/2012