The people of Scotland, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, had, in the proper sense of the word, breeches; and wore a kind of stockings, their hose coming only to the knees; their stockings were made of linen or woollen, and breeches of hemp.
It is supposed that these particular articles of dress were also common in England, at and after that time, for in the year 1510, Henry VIII. appeared upon a public occasion, with his attendants, in dresses of the following description:—“The king and some of the gentlemen had the upper parts of their hosen, which was of blue and crimson, powdered with castels and sheafes of arrows of fine ducket gold, and the nether parts of scarlet, powdered with timbrels,” &c. There may be occasion to suppose the upper parts of the hose were in separate pieces, as they were of different colours. Hollinshed, also speaking of another festival says, “The garments of six of them were of strange cuts, every cut knit with points of gold, and tassels of the same, their hosen cut in and tied likewise.”
In A. D. 1530, the word knit appears to have been quite common in England, for John Palsgrave, a French master to the Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., published a grammar, in which he stated, that this word in French was applied to the making of nets as well as of caps and of stockings.
In the household book of a noble family in the reign of Henry VIII., kept during the life of Sir Thomas L’Estrange, Knight of Hunstanton, Norfolk, by his Lady, Ann, daughter of Lord Vaux, there are the following entries, whence the price of those articles at that period are ascertained:—
1533. 25 H. 8. 7 Sept. Peyd for 4 peyr of knytt hose—viii s.
1538. 30 H. 8. 3 Oct. —— 2 peyr of knytt hose—i s.
It is observed that the first four pairs were for Sir Thomas, and the latter for his children.
Nevertheless, in the reign of Mary, i.e. 1558, many wore cloth hose, as is evidenced in the following anecdote of Dr. Sands, who was afterwards Archbishop of York. Being in the Tower, he had permission for a tailor to come and take an order for a pair of hose. This serves to prove the veracity of Stowe, that stockings were not an article manufactured in England generally, we suppose, till six years afterwards. “Dr. Sands, on his going to bed in Hurleston’s house, he had a paire of hose newlie made, that were too long for him. For while he was in the Tower, a tailor was admitted to make him a pair of hose. One came into him whose name was Beniamin, dwelling in Birchin lane; he might not speak to him or come to him to take measure of him, but onelie to look upon his leg; he made the hose, and they were two inches too long. These hose he praied the good wife of the house to send to some tailor to cut his hose two inches shorter. The wife required the boy of the house to carrie them to the next tailor, which was Beniamin that made them. The boy required him to cut the hose. He said, ‘j am not the maister’s tailor.’ Saith the boy, ‘Because ye are our next neighbour, and my maister’s tailor dwelleth far off, j come to you.’ Beniamin took the hose and looked upon them, he took his handle work in hand, and said, ‘These are not thy maister’s hose, but Doctor Sands, them j made in the Tower.’”
In a catalogue of the revenues of the Bishop of St. Asaph, it is stated, “The bishop of that diocese was entitled, as a perquisite, upon the death of any beneficed clergyman, to his best coat, jerkin, doublet, and breeches. Item, his hose or nether stockings, shoes, and garters.”
About 1557, knitting must have become common, for Harrison, in his description of the indigenous produce of this island, says, the bark of the alder tree was used by the peasants’ wives for dying stockings which they had knitted.