Coat

Brown/khaki waxed coat. Double breasted closing with buttons made of unknown bone-like material. 2 buttons missing. Collar fastens with hook and eye at centre front. Long sleeves with flap and 2 buttons at cuff. 2 deep square patch pockets at each hip with 8 cm flap and crude zip fastenings suggesting zips were added at a later date. 2 pieces of natural rope found in right pocket when worn. Storm collar closure from left side of collar can be fastened with small button. Small woven label with blue writing at centre back under hanging loops reads: 'By Appointment / Aquacutum LTD / 100, Regent St. / London. W.' Handwritten under woven label reads 'Golding P.O.' Heavily worn condition with dirty marks and tears to fabric.

This coat was originally worn by Golding's father, and after his death was subsequently passed onto Francis Golding. Golding wore this coat throughout his life, including on trips around the country as part of his work with English Heritage. Aquascutum was founded in 1851 as a Mayfair tailor by John Emary. The company received a royal warrant in 1897.

This item is part of a larger collection of clothing and accessories worn by Francis Golding, who was a leading architectural, planning and conservation consultant, widely credited with influencing the look of London in the late 20th/early 21st centuries. Due to Golding’s untimely death from injuries sustained in a cycling accident in Central London on 5 November 2013, his Georgian townhouse in Islington, where he lived for 30 years, remained practically undisturbed for two years, until the Museum of London was invited to assess his clothing collection for acquisition. Carefully selected from this large collection, the Museum of London acquired 13 ensembles and 34 individual items from key moments in Golding’s life, from the mid-1960s, when he first moved to London, to items worn shortly before his death in 2013.