PANTS
CultureScottish
Datec. 1820s
Dimensions113 x 47 cm
Object numberHF.2017.08.5
DescriptionPair of tartan pants, also known as trews. The pattern is Royal Stewart tartan with a high-waisted wide waistband that are 3/4 lined with linen. The lining hem is cut in daggers. The back has been let out with eyelets on each side for lacing. There is a fringe down the outside of both legs and suspender buttons on the outside of the waistband.
Associated object: HF.2017.08.3.
Narrative
These trews are thought to have originally belonged to David Stewart who was born 1769 in Ardcheanacrochdon, in Strathgartney near Callender, Scotland. David was a land surveyor and land agent. As early as 1808, David began purchasing land in Prince Edward Island and by the 1830's, the Stewarts had purchased Lots 7, 10, 12, and 30 as well as parts of Lots 27, 46, and 47. He and his wife, Martha Mann Hill Stewart, had one son, Robert Bruce, who eventually moved to PEI with his family settling on the Stewart Property in Lot 30 where they called their estate Strathgartney (part of which is now the provincial park). When David died in 1852, his vast estate holdings of almost 67,000 acres passed to his son, making Robert the largest resident landholder on PEI. Robert and his family moved to Charlottetown in 1846. In 1863, the family relocated to Strathgartney, their country estate.
This Royal Stewart tartan was woven by Wilson's of Bannockburn, a tartan mill which operated from the mid 1700s-mid 1900s. The trousers were likely made in the late 1820s for the 1822 visit of King George IV to Edinburgh. This event is referred to as the "King's Jaunt" and was the first royal visit to Scotland in 150 years, since 1641. Those being presented to George IV were required to dress in tartan and it is likely that David Stewart had this outfit made special for the occasion.
The trews are made of fine cloth which is cut on the bias. The side seam has inserted fringe and they are constructed with a drop-front and would likely have been worn with braces or suspenders. The trousers were likely constructed by Donald Currie, a Scotsman and tailor in London.
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