Jockey's jacket
Category
Costume
Date
1850 - 1870
Materials
silk & cotton
Measurements
545 x 480 mm
Collection
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
NT 291722
Caption
The fortunes of some aristocratic families rested on the outcome of a horse race. Gambling on races and investments in horses were popular pastimes for the upper classes, although losses could bring financial and social ruin. At estates like Calke (opposite), racing stables and riding schools were established and horses were trained in the grounds. Colourful jockey silks had been part of the racing world since the 16th century, so that spectators (and gamblers) were able to distinguish the riders from each other and see whether they had backed a winner. From 1870 onwards, colours and patterns could be registered to certain owners. Budding family historians at Calke Abbey added a label to these jockey silks that reads: ‘supposed to be Mr Ashton Mosley of Burnaston’. Ashton Nicholas Every Mosley (1792–1875) was Derbyshire High Sheriff; his grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Mosley (1863–1945), married Hilda Harpur-Crewe (1877–1949) in 1918. The label does not indicate that Ashton Mosley was necessarily the wearer of the silks; they may have been worn by the jockey riding a horse owned by Mosley. Helen Antrobus
Summary
B729 A silk jockey's jacket with green body and long cream sleeves. Lined with white cotton. The straight sided jacket has a collar and fastens down the front with eight covered buttons. A label sewn inside reads 'supposed to be Mr Ashton Mosley of Burnaston'
Marks and inscriptions
supposed to be Mr Ashton Mosley of Burnaston (a label sewn inside)
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 112-113.