In the period c. 1870-1914 did women join men in hunting with hounds in Britain and France, and if so, can one safely assume that they wore trousers?

sue943

I have searched and found pictures depicting women hunting and wearing long skirts, riding side-saddle. I also found the link below which shows a divided skirt. If you read the blurb it indicates that women hunted at that time (1915) and referrred to 'still ...' so it would presumably be prior to that date. http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/timelineitem.php?index=191047 I don't know the period for the picture in the link below... http://www.thefineartcompany.co.uk/Animals/hunt.jpg Oct 14 05, 9:00 AM

bloomsby

Thanks, Sue, for the information and the link. The mind boggles at anyone hunting (seriously) while riding side-saddle. I suppose it's possible that some women managed to develop a knack of riding fast like that without falling off, but I wonder what really happened ... Oct 14 05, 10:23 AM

lanfranco

The only time I tried a side-saddle (after years of riding astride), I felt so insecure even at a leisurely walk that I dismounted almost immediately. However, there's a truly hilarious episode in the Patrick Dennis novel "Auntie Mame" involving a side-saddle and a hunt. Worth reading. 19th-century ladies who rode often did wear special breeches under their skirted habits. This would have been especially important at a hunt, when the possibility of being thrown, especially at a jump, was greater: http://www.sidesaddle.org/periodattire.htm Oct 14 05, 4:31 PM

bloomsby

Many thanks, Lanfranco, for the information and the amusing link. So, what happened in the field and on the ground was, as I suspected, different from what fashion catalogues suggested. :) Oct 14 05, 7:04 PM

bloomsby

A postscript. My former wife's mother, who was an active hunter _and_ takes a very keen interest in history, including social history phoned today about something quite different, and I sprang this question on her. She tells me that in the period c. 1890ff. it was customary in England for women to ride side-saddle if they hunted. (She says there are prints and a few photographs from the period that show this, and she says there are also some written accounts, especially of accidents). She added that for women to ride astride at that time was considered 'indecent'. She added that if one has been taught from an early age to ride side-saddle, the art of riding at speed and jumping isn't too difficult. She says that for hunting particularly sturdy side-saddles were used, which helped keep the women hunters mounted but had the drawback of sometimes causing injury if a woman fell, according to some accounts. As for 1870s and 1880s, she says women usually only followed the hunt, but that at some stage [possibly with the emergence of the 'new woman' (?) in the 1890s], some more 'adventurous women' broke ranks with the others and caught up with the actual hunt itself. As this was a telephone conversation I can't supply a link, but some of this accords with the link that Sue found for the latter part of the period. :) (Please bear in mind that this question was sprung on the informant). Oct 15 05, 8:23 AM

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