The First Umbrella in Cambridge.  
Sometime towards the end of the 18th century a stranger was spotted in a Cambridgeshire village. It was harvesttime with lots of wagons in the streets, smoky bonfires and residents preparing for the Michaelmas feast.
The stranger was carrying a long curious object in oil cloths. Everyone wondered what it was. They thought perhaps it was some kind of travelling instrument, maybe a telescope or a new kind of walking stick. While the stranger was in the marketplace it started raining and the gentleman began to unfurl the object. Rumour had it that it opened like a mechanical flower with whale bone ribs and a canopy of dark green silk. For some it was a complete conundrum though. One villager said it was a parasol. The stranger called it an umbrella which apparently was a new fashion item seen in places like Paris and London. As the rain grew heavier the man held the umbrella over his head and walked calmly through the downpour with the raindrops running off the top of the object. It seemed almost magical that this slim rod could transform into an object to keep people dry.
Cambridge craftsmen were curious and saw similarities between the construction of the umbrella and their weaving of harvest items, so they started to experiment. They wove miniature umbrellas. They weren’t made to keep people dry but were designed as symbolic items. They represented shelter for the winter and protection for the grain. There was also the idea that human craft could hold back misfortune and bless next years harvest.
The straw umbrellas were hung in barns or given as tokens at the Michaelmas feast. Interestingly the designs which still exist ate mostly closed umbrellas there in only one village where straw open umbrella patterns survive.