This meant that Darlington had more hairdressers per head of population than any other town in the country, a statistic that proved it was a cut above the rest. But this month's exhibition in the Darlington Centre for Local Studies in the Crown Street library proves that the town has always been ahead of the pack at the cutting edge of fashion. The exhibition is entitled Mutton Chops, Chin Curtains and Handlebars and features pictures from the library's collection that show men – usually councillors – with extravagant facial hair.
General Ambrose Burnside, the inventor of sideburns General Ambrose Burnside is probably the most famous wearer of extravagant facial hair of all time. He was a general in the Union army during the American Civil War – not a particularly good general, which may be why he is remembered for his whiskers. They spread from his ears down to his jaw and over his upper lip but his chin was clean shaven.
From as early as 1866, this style was being referred to as "burnside whiskers" by American troops, and when the British picked it up from 1875, they reversed the general's name and referred to the style as "sideburns". READ MORE: DID A DANDY HIGHWAYMAN LIKE DICK TURPIN EVER TERRORISE DARLINGTON AND SOUTH DURHAM? Sideburns were, in effect, a combination of two styles that were all the rage in the 1850s and 1860s. Firstly, the mutton-chop, which was hair that was shaped like a cut of meat: narrow at the ear but broad and rounded at the jaw with the chin.
