The bluecoat is a style of dress code, traditionally worn in bluecoat schools ( English

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

deriving from

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

s). The main element of the bluecoat is a long (dark blue or black) coat, belted at the waist, with white neck decoration. Underneath a white shirt and grey breeches are worn, with knee-length stockings and smart shoes.

History

The uniform has its origin in the 16th-century dress of foundlings housed at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

, then in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Bluecoat schools based on the model of Christ's Hospital were set up in emulation in other urban centres. The last bluecoat school to be founded was that in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in 1773. The essayist

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

(educated at Christ's Hospital from 1791 to 1799) described the bluecoat uniform: "Our dress was of the coarsest and quaintest kind, but was respected out of doors, and is so. It consisted of a blue drugget gown, or body, with ample coats to it; a yellow vest underneath in winter-time; small-clothes of Russia duck; worsted yellow stockings; a leathern girdle; and a little black worsted cap, usually carried in the hand. I believe it was the ordinary dress of children in humble life, during the reign of the Tudors. We used to flatter ourselves that it was taken from the monks..."''Autobiography'', Leigh Hunt, 1850 Most bluecoat schools have abandoned the uniform and replaced it with more modern styles. There are a few schools however that still retain the uniform, but use it for special occasions only. Only one school in England,

, still uses bluecoat uniform as normal day wear. Image:Constant Lambert as a Blue coat boy.jpg, The bluecoat uniform as worn at

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

Image:Liverpool Bluecoat boy sculpted.jpg, The

Liverpool Blue Coat School The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school in Liverpool, England. It was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Robert Styth as the Liverpool Blue Coat Hospital and was for many years a boarding school, boys' boarding school ...

used to have a bluecoat uniform, as shown by this sculpted detail on the former building at

Bluecoat Chambers Built in 1716–17 as a charity school, Bluecoat Chambers in School Lane is the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool, England. Following the Liverpool Blue Coat School's move to another site in 1906, the building was rented from 1907 ...

Image:BrownManchesterMuralChetham.jpg,

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is a private co-educational boarding and day music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates pupils between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. The music school was established i ...

in Manchester was formerly a bluecoat school File:Blewcoat School 2.jpg, Former

Blewcoat School Blewcoat School is a building in Caxton Street, London, that was built in 1709 as a school for the poor (a Bluecoat school). It was used as a school until 1926. In 1954, it was purchased by the National Trust who used it as a gift shop and inf ...

, London; now a shop File:Fairweather Bickford 13yrs 1887-B7723 31.jpg, A photograph of bluecoat costume in 1887

References

Academic dress Christ's Hospital