Hammercloth

A hammercloth is a large decorative piece of fabric, often fringed and richly adorned with embroidery, gemstones, and cloth of gold, placed over and around the seat of the coachman of a traditional horse and carriage. A hanmercloth might display a family crest or other emblems of the heritage of the passenger within the coach.

Gala Berlin with throne; the hammercloth is the red drapery on the coachman's seat

Origin

The origin of the word hammercloth is uncertain, and several etymologies have been given. One is that a coachman used to carry his tools, including a hammer, with him underneath his seat to perform repairs to a carriage should it break down on the road. Another is that the "hammer" portion is a corruption of the word "hamper", and meant to suggest that the cloth covered a hamper which might contain food for the passengers or coachman. A third is that it is a corruption of "hammock", and that a "hammock-cloth" was a strip of fabric used instead of a wooden seat in days before carriages had springs for shock absorption. On a carriage with no springs, a hammock provides a much more comfortable ride than a wooden slat, and so "hammock-cloth" may have been the original term.[1][2]

References
  1. "What is the origin of Hammer-cloths?". Replies: A weekly journal of question and answer. II (35): 138. 29 November 1879. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. Samuel Pegge (1818). Curialia Miscellanea; Or, Anecdotes of Old Times: Regal, Noble, Gentilitial, and Miscellaneous: Including Authentic Anecdotes of the Royal Household, and the Manners and Customs of the Court, at an Early Period of the English History. J. Nichols, Son, and Bentley. p. 304.
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