The Hair Powder Certificate was closely associated with the right to wear a wig. Wigs, and the right to wear them, were visible signs of status in earlier centuries and wigs had their own styles and fashions.

HAIR POWDER CERTIFICATES
INDEX 1796/7

Kay Collins 1997©

Two bundles of large pages, folded, being by PLACE (almost alphabetical), listing each person there who held a certificate for using hair powder and their STATUS. The 1796 bundle has two short lists attached to the second page, some places having a secondary listing e.g. Aynho, and Warkworth House is on the back of one of these. Several parishes are only listed in one year, some occupations have changed in the 1797 lists. If a person is in both lists, the YEAR column will show 1796 and if they only appear in 1797 that will be in the year column. His/her occupation will appear in either or both 96 & 97 columns, abbreviations used are on the following page. Any change or additional information will be noted in the end column.

A small bundle of forms are folded into the lists :

To the constable of the parish of ...... in the County of Northampton.
By the Act of the 35th Geo III c.49. passed on the 30th of April, 1795, imposing a Duty on Certificates issued for using Hair-Powder, S.16.You are required, within three Days after the Receipt of the annexed List, to cause a true and exact Copy thereof to be affixed on the Church Door of your Parish,and from Time to Time, when necessary, to replace the same, for the Space of Four Weeks then next.
Every Person willfully tearing, defacing, or removing, the List to be fixed up, within the said Space of Four Weeks, forfeits for every Offence, on Conviction before a Justice of the Peace, Forty Shillings, Half of which goes to you, and the other Half to the informer.CHR. SMITH, Clerk of the Peace of the County of Northampton

Hair Powder Certificates
Status Forename Surname Year 96 97 Place
Rev. Mr.
BRIGHT 1796 h h
Grafton

Sarah JONES 1796 w
Abthorpe

Judith ADAMS 1796 w w Blakesley
Mrs.
CAVE 1796 h
Blisworth

Mary CONSTABLE 1796 w w
Blisworth
Esq. Humbro RIGBY 1796 h
Blisworth
Rev.
BEAUCLERK 1796 hh
Whittlebury
Mrs.
SMITH 1796 ww
Whittlebury
Esq. John ROPER 1796 hh
Potterspury

Charlotte COOKE 1797 w
Paulerspury
Rev. William MASTERS 1796 h h
Paulerspury

Samuel SMITH 1797 h h
Paulerspury

Mary STOLMAN 1796 w w
Stoke Bruerne

William STOLMAN 1796 h h
Stoke Bruerne

Ann PORTER 1796 h d
Ashton