14th October 2026
Professor Welch stated the one of the main aims of her lecture was to leave her audience with the view that the past is weird. How was it that men had worn grand chevalier wigs and this was considered normal for so long? She began with a self-portrait by a young Picasso showing that to identify with an old master he simply had painted himself in a wig.
Her lecture covered four main areas.
• Hair was viewed as excrement based on the theory of the four humours.
• What was considered normal hair
• Hair in practice: using the diaries of Samuel Pepys
• The economy of hair
Up to the late 16th century in Christian Europe women had covered their hair and men had worn their hair short. Hair cutting had been seen as part of male health care. An opportunity to open the pores to let out bodily excrement and quickly close them. By the late 16th century men were wearing the lovelock with their hair short on one side while long on the other, often tied with ribbon bows or even plaited to symbolise a romantic token of a lady’s affection.
While men were growing their hair longer women were uncovering their hair and wearing it up but often padded with someone else’s hair. Normal hair for men was now long and a symbol of manhood. This could be seen in many paintings but by the middle of the 17th century the move was to wearing a wig while shaving off their own hair. This move was explored by Professor Welch using the invaluable source of Samuel Pepys’ diaries. In 1661 Pepys was having his hair cut by his barber but gradually he moved towards wearing a periwig which involved wearing at least two wigs at a cost of 20s a year by 1669. Wigs had become normal.
A really intriguing question about wearing wigs was why did this fashion last so long? There was a whole economy built around the making, wearing and maintenance of wigs that lasted for over a hundred years. The practice spread to all classes and to areas like the American colonies. The role of the barber in making and tending the wig was essential. The lecture was illustrated by rich visual sources and provoked some fascinated questions from our audience. Many focused on what sort of hair was used, how the wigs were made and comparisons were made with modern tattooing.
We were delighted with an attendance of eighty two.
