Launched in 2021, Black Chiswick through History is an ongoing community research project, working in collaboration with local community groups, young people, historians and artists. Through it, we look more deeply at the history of Chiswick House & Gardens, drawing out stories that connect us to Black history, on both a local and a national/global level.

For 2024, the project has celebrated the lives of some of the men, women and children of African heritage associated with Chiswick House and estate in the 18th century, focusing on the three individuals best represented in our collection and archives – Joseph Casar, Lady Burlington’s footman & messenger – James (or Jim) Cumberlidge, who rose from pageboy to publisher – and Jean Baptiste Gilbert, the infamous Duchess Georgiana’s hairdresser.

Here, historian Nadege Forde-Vidal, who has been working on the BCtH programme since its inception, takes a look at the life and career of Jean Baptiste Gilbert.

After her marriage to the 5th Duke in 1774, the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Cavendish, quickly became a leader of fashion and one of the most celebrated beauties of her time. Jean Baptiste Gilbert was employed as her hairdresser for more than a decade between 1777 and 1788. The London newspapers noted daily what new style was on the duchess’s head. These tall and detailed designs, straight from Paris, were not constructed single-handedly. It took more than a lady’s maid to prepare a duchess for an evening out. The hairdressers of the time were all male, as it was considered a profession, much like a barber or wigmaker.

Until the late 1770s, women had not worn wigs, raised hairstyles were created by other means. Natural hair, supplemented by bought artificial or real hair, was stiffened with powder and pomade and brushed over wool, hemp, or wire pads. Hair could attain heights up to two feet, often embellished with ribbons, Ostrich feathers, living flowers and pearls.

Jean Baptiste was clearly skilled at constructing these large elaborate styles using techniques he was prepared to teach others. By 1779, he was running his own school and placed an advert to promote his teaching to ‘those who wish to learn all the various methods he had peculiar to himself of decorating and dressing Ladies’ hair’. Gilbert’s school was located close to Devonshire House in the wealthy parish of St James, London.

What were these ‘peculiar’ methods that Jean Baptiste refers to? Did his African heritage inspire or influence his hair creations?

In many African societies and across the African diaspora, hair was and still is seen as a symbol of a person’s identity. Many African hair styles, like Bantu knots and corn rows (cane rows) have been around for millennia and have served functional roles at the same time as conveying messages about background, community and status, as well as life changing lifetime events. Every hairstyle tells a story…

The first documented use of hair extensions and wigs dates to c.3400 BCE, and comes from Ancient Egypt, where a thick head of hair was seen as a symbol of health and wealth. Wigs and hair extensions were worn by high society men and women, including politicians, pharaohs and queens. Archaeologists have uncovered remains that show sheep’s wool was also braided into natural hair to add thickness like modern day extensions. But wigs were worn mainly for ceremonial purposes, created using human hair, vegetable fibres and sheep’s wool and often attached with beeswax.

Hair remains strongly associated with both life and death in many regions of Africa. Thick, long, and neat hair is believed to reflect the potential to bear healthy, strong children and in contrast, when someone is in mourning, their hair will be shaved, or neglected. Families, tribes, all had their own specific hairstyles which could convey age, marital status, occupation, religious affiliation. In some cultures, women would wear their hair in braids or cornrows when they were single, and loose or covered when they married. Hair also played a role in the spiritual and ritual practices of many African cultures, as it was believed to hold magical powers and connect one to the ancestors and the divine.

With hair being an elevated part of one’s body, ancient communities believed that it helped with divine communication. This belief is the reason why hair styling was entrusted to close relatives. People thought that if a strand of hair fell into the hands of an enemy, harm could come to the hair’s owner. Hair became a prominent daily activity, especially among women who took the opportunity to socialise – a gathering that still takes place both inside and outside hair salons across the world today.

Various natural materials and techniques continue to be used to style and adorn hair in Africa – clay, oils, herbs, shells, beads, feathers, and metal. Tools such as combs, pins, and razors to shape and cut hair are also first found in Africa. Some of the most common, distinctive and enduring styles were the Afro – worn by both men and women of various ethnic groups, such as the Wolof, Mende, Mandingo, and Yoruba. Braids in simple or complex designs decorated with beads, shells, or other accessories were/are popular among women and children of the Fulani, Hausa, Zulu, and Ndebele. Cornrows – braids plaited close to the scalp in geometric or symbolic patterns, and used to create buns, mohawks and crowns remain popular with both men and women of various cultures like the Ewe, Ashanti, Igbo, and Yoruba.

Hair is, and always has been, far more than just a physical feature for many people around the world. It enables the individual to express their own sense of identity, personality, creativity, and culture. Jean Baptiste Gilbert’s success could well be precisely due to the fact he saw hair as a vessel through which he could express himself, and his heritage, creatively, freely and to personal advantage!

• Find out more about the Black Chiswick through History programme here
• Explore a digital timeline, created by Year 10 students at Chiswick School, showing how the lives of Jospeh Casar, James Cumberlidge and Jean-Baptiste Gilbert intersected with local, national and global events of their time.