Cap, nightcap

Man's embroidered nightcap made from a single piece of linen cut with four shaped quarters and turned-back brim. It is said to have been worn by Charles I when he was taken from Holdenby House in Northamptonshire, by Cornet George Joyce (b.1618) of the Parliamentarian Army on 4 June 1647. After taking the king as prisoner, the party discovered that they had to provide further wardrobe for him while in their custody.

A deep tuck has been taken in the unworked linen behind the brim, which now covers an embroidered section of the crown. Embroidered with silver and silver-gilt thread, plaited-braid and ladder stitches, and woven knots with coloured silks in long and short, satin and stem stitches and a little laid and couched work. Some of the embroidery (e.g. the red edges to the upper row of carnations) has been reworked. The quarters and the brim are divided into octagonal compartments decorated with quatrefoil interlacing on the four short sides. The compartments contain upright sprigs of carnation, rose and pansy, with additional sprigs of borage and marigold on the brim. The silk embroidery is rather second-rate.

The cap is very worn with holes in the linen and darkening from exposure to light.

Additional cataloguing by Santina Levey