omniana
No.10 The Graduation Cap
The Geneva Bonnet has been used every year in living memory ceremonially to confer degrees from the University, but thousands of taps on graduating students' heads had taken their toll on the cap's fabric, causing it to split. While restoring the bonnet in preparation for the Summer 2000 graduation ceremonies, a conservator from the North West Museums Service, Blackburn, uncovered inked paper fragments between its outer velvet and original lining, inscribed, "Henry Banks, 22 Duke Street, Edinr 31 July 1849".
Research has revealed that Henry Banks was registered in the 1849 Edinburgh Directory in Duke Street, which was renamed Dublin Street in 1967. The 1851 census records Henry Banks as a merchant tailor employing six men.
Popular legend has it that the bonnet was originally made using cloth from the breeches of John Knox, although another rumour attributes those breeches to the famous Scottish scholar, George Buchanan Both died almost 300 years before 1849, and the conservator has confirmed that the fabrics used in the bonnet date from the mid 19th century and must have replaced any earlier material.
It is unclear as to the roots of the legends, however John Knox and George Buchanan were responsible for initiating the educational elements of the Scottish Reformation which paved the way for the establishment of the University of Edinburgh. As a Professor at the University of St Andrews, George Buchanan taught the first Principal of the University of Edinburgh, Robert Rollock. There is a statue of John Knox in the University's New College which depicts him wearing a bonnet similar to the graduation cap.
Whether or not either of the legends is true, the conservation of the bonnet, which was sponsored by Ede and Ravenscroft, should ensure that Edinburgh graduates continue to be 'capped' for another 150 years.
