Centuries-old Faroese jumper unwrapped at National Archives

A 200-year-old sweater in a traditional Faroese knit has been discovered in a parcel among a stash of 19th Century letters at the National Archives.

The jumper, handknitted in brightly-coloured fine wool, was intended for a woman in Denmark.

Instead, its delivery ship was seized by the British Navy during the Second Battle of Copenhagen.

Two academics from the Faroe Isles flew to London to witness the packages being opened for the first time in 217 years.

The same shipment, on the cargo ship Anne Marie from Tórshavn in 1807, contained a sample of fine women's knee-length woollen stockings and fabric samples.

The Second Battle of Copenhagen, which ran from 16 August to 7 September that year, was a British attack on the Danish capital targeting the host's fleet during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Faroe Islands' knitting is regarded as some of the best in the world, often done by women at home, using traditions and patterns handed down from generation to generation.

The wool comes from some of the 80,000 sheep that roam the islands.

The island sheep are hardy, living on rain-soaked mountain sides for months on end. Faroese wool contains more lanolin (wax or grease from the sheep) than lambs wool, and the lanolin makes it waterproof.

It keeps the water out and the warmth in, with sweaters known to have been passed down through four or more generations.

The red sweater was accompanied by a letter saying "my wife sends her regards, thank you for the pudding rice. She sends your fiancé this sweater and hopes that it is not displeasing to her".

The package is addressed to a Mr P Ladsen in Copenhagen and its contents are described by the sender as a "sweater for sleeping", though its style closely resembles Faroese national dress.

The export of men's stockings was a key part of the Faroese export market at this time when "wool was gold" for the island communities.

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