Two Gamps

Argyle Street, Glasgow

A “gamp” is a delightfully Dickensian relic of British slang. The term “gamp” for an umbrella comes directly from Sarah Gamp, a character in Charles Dickens’ 1843–44 novel 'Martin Chuzzlewit'. She was a nurse known for her slovenly habits and her ever-present, oversized umbrella, which became so iconic that the object itself took on her name.

Sarah Gamp was portrayed as comically inept and perpetually accompanied by a large, battered umbrella.

Her umbrella was described as “in colour like a faded leaf, except where a circular patch of a lively blue had been dexterously let in at the top.”

The image stuck—and by the mid-19th century, people began calling any large umbrella a “gamp.”

The term became popular in Victorian England, especially among the working class.
It carried a slightly humorous or mocking tone, often implying the umbrella was bulky, unfashionable, or well-worn.

Though now largely archaic, “gamp” still appears in dictionaries and nostalgic references.