In 1833, a rower from Lambeth won the annual race to be the fastest on the Thames. The prize he won 192 years ago has just been returned to Lambeth.
Doggett’s Coat and Badge
Silver badge featuring King George 1’s House of Hanover horse logo
Every year without fail the Doggett’s Coat and Badge Wager race for solo rowers runs on the River Thames from London Bridge to Cadogan Pier in Chelsea.
The race was founded in 1715 by Irish comedian and actor Thomas Doggett to celebrate the coronation of King George 1. Today it is organised by the Fishmongers’ Company and the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. The 7.44 km race is rowed on the River Thames upstream from London Bridge to Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, passing under eleven bridges.
The prize has remained the same since 1715 – a red woollen coat with silk embroidery and a big silver badge with a design of the horse of King George’s House of Hanover.
Doggett’s coat & badge returns from Museum of London to Lambeth Archives
Lambeth’s winner
In 1833, the winner was Lambeth waterman George Maynard. Lambeth Archives has a 19th-ventury portrait of him wearing the winner’s traditional red coat and silver badge. The original winner’s coat and badge featured in that painting have been on display in the Museum of London for many years.
Lambeth Archives plan to show off Maynard’s Doggett’s Coat and Badge later this year with talks about the history of the Thames in Lambeth.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Donatus Anyanwu, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said: “This is another rare treasure and a part of Lambeth’s history that has come back to Lambeth Archives in its secure new location on Brixton Hill, following last year’s return of three rare 17th-century Shakespeare folios after almost 75 years on loan to the British Library.”
More information
- More about this year’s Doggett Coat and Badge Race in September
- More about Lambeth Archives
- See Lambeth Archives portrait of George Maynard wearing his winner’s traditional red coat and silver badge.
