But surprisingly, given our famously changeable weather, we've only had the "personal shelter" habit for a relatively short time. The attitude that umbrellas were slightly effete, as well as opposition from sedan chair-bearers and hackney-coachmen who regarded this new accessory as a serious threat to their wet-weather trade, meant that they weren't in common use until the middle of the 18th-century.

Although nearly all umbrellas bought in England today are collapsible, there are still three shops in London renowned for making and selling traditional "stick" umbrellas: T Fox in London Wall, James Smith & Sons in New Oxford Street, and Swaine Adeney Brigg on St James's Street.

Formed in 1943 by a merger of a leather goods company with umbrella-makers Brigg & Sons (established in 1836), Swaine Adeney Brigg continue to supply umbrellas to those gentlemen – including the Prince of Wales – who are prepared to pay for the very best. ICONS spoke to Brigg's senior salesman, Michael Stevens.

Is there still much of a market for the traditional stick umbrella?

Yes, because a certain breed of people are never going to use a collapsible umbrella. And a stick umbrella is still a fashion accessory to a gentleman, whether he comes from the UK or from abroad – we export about 40% of our umbrellas. The "English umbrella" as such is still extremely popular. But when you put it against what the market would have been in the Thirties or even the early Forties or Fifties, no, the amount of units sold is not the same. People's perception of fashion has changed.

So what sort of people buy a Brigg umbrella?

Our market has changed. Today the English aristocrat will find loads of umbrellas up in the attic and he will get them repaired, but there's a new wealth, a foreign wealth – and one day they will acquire a Brigg's umbrella or a Swaine's briefcase. There's a lot more affluence in London than ten years ago. The City is pulling in lots of wealthy people from abroad, and they are a big clientele of ours. Our typical customer is going to be 38-plus – they've gone through all the angst and now they're on the way up and possibly have got to tone down the way they dress, got to become part of the Establishment. They've acquired the house and everything else, and now they want the accessories to go with it. They want to be seen as belonging to that sort of society.

What does a Brigg umbrella cost?

Our umbrellas range from £195. But for that you get a beautiful wooden umbrella – and they're all hand-made in the UK, which is why we charge those kind of prices. The top-end umbrellas are silk-covered, and they can retail up to £575. And then there's bespoke umbrellas, for people who want particular things – I think the most expensive I've sold was about £800. It had an alligator-skin handle.* That one wasn't sold to an Englishman.

Is Brigg still seen as the place to buy a quintessentially English umbrella?

Yes, it is – particularly by foreigners. The Brigg umbrella seems to be a brand name that is more famous overseas than here. But then again a foreigner would have to seek our shop out – they're on a mission to buy a Brigg umbrella.

And you have a royal warrant don't you?

Yes, we have a By Appointment to Prince Charles, and we do a lot of repairs from Clarence House and the Palace. And we have an umbrella here called the Prince of Wales umbrella – that's a malacca [Malaysian wood] with a sterling-silver nose and band.

Has the manufacturing process changed over time?

No, not at all. There's not much added value you can add to an umbrella – how can you change such a fantastic design? We have about 30 people working in our factory in Cambridgeshire, although the Swaine Adeney leather cases are made there as well. There's two umbrella makers, and then there's the cover person – and the repair people.

Have there been changes in the kind of materials?

Whangee wood [Asian bamboo] from Japan is becoming very hard to source because as the country becomes more urbanised, these trees are disappearing. You used to get umbrellas made out of apple wood, but that's all gone because they're growing the apple trees in a different direction these days – they used to grow up but now they grow them sideways so that machines can pick the apples rather than humans. But there's still quite a choice of wood – whangee, cherry, hickory, chestnut, malacca, oak, maple and ash – and they may well be in two different forms, polished or natural.

What's your bestselling umbrella?

Well, it often comes down to what the salesman likes to sell. We tend to go towards the polished woods – because you put them in someone's hand and they can see straight away how fantastically it's been made. They sell themselves really.

Do you make umbrellas with special elements?

Well, there's the racing umbrella, with a pencil in the handle – so the punter can fill out his betting slip. In the past, an umbrella or walking stick was a much more important item to a gentleman: he would often have something bespoke made for him, like a sword-stick, or a flask where they could put their brandy or scotch – we still sell some of those. But that was a different era, when a brolly or stick was a fashion accessory, not just something to keep the rain off.

Do you get much passing trade when it rains?

We do, but it has to be absolutely pouring down for that to happen. And we don't push the umbrellas to the front of the shop – we're far too classy for that.

For more information on Swaine Adeney Brigg, visit www.swaineadeney.co.uk.

*In line with current regulations, Swaine Adeney Brigg only use skin from animals that have been farmed rather than caught in the wild.