1800s Elephant and Castle Inn, Brighton Road, London, In Jane Austen’s times. By James Pollard.


1800s Elephant and Castle Inn, Brighton Road, London, In Jane Austen’s times. By James Pollard.


The London To Louth Royal Mail, England, U.K. Print by Charles Cooper Henderson. (1803-1877)
How did Jane Austen and her family? Did they go by stagecoach? The dreadful condition of British roads caused great apprehension to all classes of travelers. Making a journey anywhere in the country was a big undertaking and often a gentleman composed his last will and testament before his departure. Traveling in vehicles was only possible during the day or on the nights with very bright moonlight with few vehicles attempting road travel in winter and any travel on a Sunday was frowned upon. books2read.com/SuziLoveTravel
Description of Stage Coach Travel in England. via 1815 Journal Tour of Great Britain. “The gentlemen coachmen, with half-a dozen great coats about them, immense capes, a large nosegay at the button-hole, high mounted on an elevated seat, with squared elbows, a prodigious whip, beautiful horses, four in hand, drive in a file to Salthill, a place about twenty miles from London, and return, stopping in the way at the several public-houses and gin-shops where stage-coachmen are in the habit of stopping for a dram, and for parcels and passengers on the top of the others as many as seventeen persons. These carriages are not suspended, but rest on steel springs, of a flattened oval shape, less easy than the old mode of leathern braces on springs. Some of these stage coaches carry their baggage below the level of the axletree.”


1812 June Couple In Fashionable Jane Austen style Walking Dress, English. Lady wears a green cape and hat over a high-waisted, or Empire style, white dress with a pink parasol. Man wears a tailcoat over fawn breeches,
yellow gloves, black shoes and hat and a walking stick. Fashion Plate via The Lady’s Magazine Or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex.
By the end of the 18th century, tailored garments for both men and women were replaced by styles made for ease and comfort, resulting in the neoclassical style of the 1780s. Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomized by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown.


What did the lady of the house use to pen notes in Bridgerton and Jane Austen’s years? What sat on the desk of Jane Austen’s male contemporaries when they managed household and estate accounts? books2read.com/SuziLoveWritingTools. Writing Tools, History Notes Book 13.


1809 Messrs. Harding Howell and Co., London, UK. View of interior of Harding Howell and Co., draper’s shop on Pall Mall. Ladies examine latest fashions and fabrics which they could then request of their dressmakers. This house extended 150 feet from front to back and was divided by glass petitions into four departments, furs and fans, haberdashery, jewellery, ornaments and perfumes, and millinery. bl.uk


1809 July Opera Dress. I can picture aristocratic women wearing this sort of gorgeous outfit to the opera or an evening event.
Round convent robe of Egyptian brown tissue worn over white satin underdress, ornamented at feet, bosom and sleeves with broad Antique lace, out on full, and narrowing in front, white satin appliqued stomacher embellished with gold lattice work and continued in a straight line down to the hem. Headdress is a gold net caul, enclosing the hair at the back and finished in front with a Mechlin veil displaying the hair on the forehead and falling over the left shoulder. Necklace and armlets are a single row of Bohemian pearl with topaz or diamond snaps. Grecian scarf of rich Andalusian silk, contrasted with the robe and wrought at the ends in a deep Tuscan border of gold or colored silks. White satin slippers, trimmed with brown foil or gold, French kid gloves, opera fan of white crepe with a border of jessamine. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.


Love the charming chatelaines and chains women wore in Jane Austen’s and Bridgerton’s times? Check out this fascinating read! #bridgerton #janeausten #chatelaine #suzilovebooks books2read.com:SuziLoveChatelaines
The Bridgerton women and Jane Austen and contemporaries carried keys, writing tools, sewing items and other personal necessities on their person by long chains, or a chatelaine, that hung from their waist. Early chatelaines were simple essentials but later chatelaines were decorative and expensive. http://books2read.com/SuziLoveChatelaines

Definition Chatelaine: The word Chatelaine is French and means the keeper of the keys. Chatelaine” derives from the Latin word for castle. In Medieval times, the chatelaine was in charge of the day-to-day running of the castle. Women in charge of households dangled long chains from their waists to keep essentials within easy reach e.g. keys, notebook and pen, watch, sewing items, vinaigrette or perfume, or magnifying glass. Early chatelaine were simple essentials. Later chatelaine were decorative and expensive. books2read.com/SuziLoveChatelaines
What did a chatelaine do? Most important task was keeper of the keys. Also ordered supplies, did bookkeeping, supervised servants, taught castle children, and organized guests.
What were chatelaines used for?

1810 Couple In Walking Dress, French. Lady in a jade green Redingote, or coat, with paisley skirt, worn over a white dress with sleeves caught up, and hat tied under her chin. Man in a brown tailcoat, tight white pants that button down the sides, black hat and shoes and carrying a walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
The sort of outfits a lady and gentleman in Jane Austen’s times would have worn while out walking, shopping, or going to visit friends.
Pelisse, or Walking Dress, or Redingote. The Fashion Dictionary description of a Redingote is (réd’ing-göt; red ing gote). Pronounced: red ing gote Woman’s long, fitted coat often cut Princess style and worn open in front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made for men with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French word developed from English words, riding coat. reefer. Single- or double-breasted, fitted, tailored, over-all coat usually made from sturdy fabric but in the British Regency Era a Pelisse was often made from a lighter fabric, such as cotton.


1795 August Mother and Daughter walking in the country wearing white morning dresses and matching hats. Mother wears short blue gloves, aqua blue ribbons and a shoulder shawl, or fichu. Daughter wears long yellow gloves, a straw hat with pink ribbons and carries a fan. via Nikolaus Heideloff’s Gallery of Fashion.


1800s Typical Meat and Game Meals served during the 1800s. These are the sort of dishes Jane Austen’s family and the Bridgertons would have eaten on a regular basis.
Pig’s Feet and Truffles, Lyons Sausage, Puree of Game and Rice, Pigeon Pie, Brawn, Calf’s Heart, Larks and Potatoes, Lamb Chops and Potatoes, Calf’s Tongue, Scotch Eggs and Forcemeat, Stuffed tomatoes, Hot and Cold Fowl and Jelly, Veal Cutlets and Olives, Veal Cutlets, Filet Of Beef In the Garden, Fillets Of Beef, Lamb Cutlets and Green Peas, Partridges, Garnished Ham, Garnished Tongue, Chicken Fricassée, Chicken Croquettes, Fricandeau Of Veal, Half Calf’s Head, Chartreuse Of Partridge, Timbale Milanese Or Macoroni.
From: 1860s Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. via Google Books (PD-150)

