The Bowler Hat Written by Pam Preedy. In the 19th century, clothes, including the hats worn by the upper classes and aristocracy were very important, so it might surprise you to know that the bowler hat was not originally made for the ‘toffs,’ but for the working classes. In 1849, a nobleman named Edward Coke (pronounced ‘cook’) of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, needed a special hat to protect the heads of his gamekeepers. He was the younger brother of William Coke. At the time Coke’s gamekeeper and other estate groundsmen wore…