HISTORY OF UMBRELLAS

When did people start carrying umbrellas?

There’s evidence of umbrellas in a wide variety of ancient civilisations, notably Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. At that time, carrying one (or probably having one carried for you) was a sign of high status. Their first use as a protection against rain rather than sun appears to have been in China about 3,000 years ago.*

When did they reach western Europe?

Probably in the 17th century, although they were seen as a curiosity. But their use spread, notably in France. By the mid-18th century, umbrellas were commonplace in Paris, although some preferred to risk a soaking because carrying one was tantamount to admitting you couldn’t afford a carriage.

When did the British start using them?

There are a few references to women’s umbrellas in early 18th century England. The first English man known to carry one regularly was the Portsmouth-born traveller and philanthropist Jonas Hanway. He began his 30-year habit of strolling about London with an umbrella in the 1750s, much to the fury of London’s coachmen and chairmen who saw their monopoly on covered transport being threatened. But, given the climate, it was inevitable they’d catch on and by the turn of the 19th century many were carrying them.

Were they accepted everywhere?

Not completely. In 1814, during the battle of Bayonne, the Duke of Wellington sent a terse message to some officers. It read: “Lord Wellington does not approve of the carrying of umbrellas during the enemy’s firing. He will not allow the gentlemen’s sons to make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of the army.”

On the other hand, Major Digby Tathan-Warter took an umbrella with him to Arnhem in 1944, claiming that although he could never remember passwords there was no chance of his being mistaken for a German, as only an Englishman would go into battle carrying an umbrella.

Can anyone carry an umbrella?

Everybody, it seems, except the England football manager. When in 2007 Steve McClaren made the mistake of watching his rain-sodden England team lose to Croatia from the shelter of an umbrella, the media had a field day, dubbing him ‘The Wally with the Brolly’.

By Julian Humphrys in "BBC History Magazine", UK, June, 2106, excerpts p.16. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

*  LC Note: Historical excavations suggest that the Chinese were the first to create a collapsible fabric dome around the year 21 CE (at the latest), when rulers were interested in having some sort of shade covering for their carriages. The umbrella was exported abroad thanks to the Silk Road, first to Japan and Korea, then across Europe and Asia. The usage of parasols and umbrellas flourished during the Roman Empire, died down during the Middle Ages, and began to grow in popularity again during the Renaissance.