Note 6 — ASHCLIFFE HALL
Reading edition
Patches, scraps of black court-plaster, or gummed velvet cut in shapes—stars, crescents, circles, lozenges, and even more elaborate and absurd forms—became fashionable about 1650, and remained so for many years. In the reign of Queen Anne, ladies showed their political proclivities by their patches—those who patched on one side of the face only being Tories, and on the other, Whigs. Neutrals patched on both sides.