Full dress coat belonging to purser John Lord (joined the Royal Navy in 1823, died 1860). Lord became a purser in 1832, after William IV changed the uniform from one with white cuffs and collar to scarlet cuffs and collar, the Windsor colours.

While commissioned officers and warrant officers were meant to wear what was essentially the same uniform, rank could be discerned by whether the coat was double- or single-breasted, the arrangement of buttons and the width of gold lace on the collar and cuffs, as well as epaulettes. That this is a warrant officer’s uniform is indicated by the single-breasted coat with its grouping of eight buttons in pairs. In addition, the purser would have only worn one full epaulette and one scale.

The coat is of blue wool and the skirts are lined in white. The stand-up collar is reinforced with leather, faced with scarlet wool and edged with gold lace. The cuffs are lined in black twill silk, as is the small of the back.