Object Of The Month

Doggett's Coat and Badge

This coat and badge was worn by Charles 'Wag' Harding in 1888.

For many years actors and members of the audience were often ferried across the Thames to the theatres on the south bank. They were ferried by watermen using special boats called 'wherries'. In 1715, Thomas Doggett the actor and manager of the Drury Lane Theatre offered a coat and badge as a prize for a five mile race for watermen from London Bridge to Chelsea. Doggett, a staunch Whig, wished to commemorate the first anniversary of the accession to the throne of the Hanovarians. He died in 1721, but managed to ensure the prize was carried on by means of a legacy in his will. The responsibility for the race eventually fell to the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, and they have organised it ever since. When he entered, Charles Harding weighed 7 st 9lbs and was the lightest man to win the race. The race continues to this day and is believed to be one of the oldest sporting races in existence.