Haud on, Whats Hodden Grey?

London Scottish House is the home of The London Scottish Regiment who are a territorial battalion and were initially raised by Lord Elcho (later the Earl of Wemyss and March) in 1859 as The London Scottish Rifle Volunteers. The regiment was composed of Scots living in the London area and one of their many claims to fame is their unusual uniform.

Rather than being tartan, their kilts were made of 'Hodden Grey' cloth. This was chosen for two main reasons; Lord Elcho said when asked that ”A soldier is a man hunter. As a deer stalker chooses the least visible of colours, so ought a soldier to be clad” however another reason was thought to be to avoid any inter-clan rivalry by potentially showing preference for a particular tartan.

Contrary to popular belief Lord Elcho didn’t invent Hodden Grey, it was actually fairly common throughout Scotland long before the formation of the London Scots. The Hodden Grey fabric itself was usually made on small hand-looms by the peasants. They mixed black and white fleeces together in the proportion of one black to twelve white when weaving. Originally the cloth was a light grey, but over time shades of brown and purple were introduced. Still called ‘Hodden Grey,’ this became the inspiration for the khaki color now used by militaries world wide.

There is even mention of the fabric in the 1795 song "A Man's a Man for a' That", by Robert Burns:

“What though on hamely fare we dine,

Wear hodden grey, an' a that;

Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;

A Man's a Man for a' that.”

Which paved the way for the inclusion of the brown/grey colour in the Burns Check tartan we know and love today. Although the first idea had been to base it on the Campbell clan tartan with which the Burns family were connected, after further deliberation it was decided that it was more appropriate to model it on the Shepherd's Check with the inclusion of an overcheck in Hodden Grey and a little hint of green to represent the fields.

Most people think of plain cloth kilts or tweed kilts as a fairly modern invention, a stylish fad or somehow non-Scottish, however they have existed for hundreds of years, certainly before the formation of the London Scottish, which is evident in artworks and descriptions throughout history. Although they are the most famous wearers of the cloth. (the only other regiment to wear the hodden grey kilt is the Toronto Scottish in Canada) There is even a blended Highland Scotch whisky that dates back to the 1990s called Hodden Grey which feature the London Scottish Regiment on the bottle's label. Of which we were treated to a dram by Andrew Parsons, the Curator and Archivist of London Scottish House, while discussing the origins of the Hodden fabric and meeting the various characters of the London Scottish Community.

Although the Hodden Grey is worn by the London and Toronto Scottish, they are not the only ones to wear plain fabric kilts. Other examples include the Irish, who are most well know for their solid saffron and green kilts. These were introduced as symbols of Irish nationalism in the latter part of the nineteenth century. However prior to this the Irish military adopted use of saffron kilts for pipers in the regiments. Now that there are Irish tartans for every county and some Irish families, the wearing of saffron and green kilts is declining, but it still remains a bold and colourful choice. Rather less well known is the use of solid coloured kilts by Cornishmen. Before the Cornish National tartan was introduced in 1963, Cornish nationalists who wanted to wear Highland dress opted for a solid black kilt. Maybe they could combine both in one of our lovely Insert Pleat Kilts?