Jacobean Shoe Buckle circa 1660 – 1700…

This little copper alloy shoe buckle was found on a public footpath,  which was due to be moved thanks to yet more building work on green fields… It is quite surprising how well this has survived, being quite small with a complete frame without any distortion,  an iron centre pin that still works and moves, whilst the connected “holed chape” works as it should, with only the pin on the chape seeming a bit short… The hole would have served the purpose of being tied to the wearers shoe by a lace, so as not to be lost…

It is very nice to see a complete buckle frame with the inner workings in situ & still working… The workmanship pays testimony to the build quality of how it has survived nearly three hundred years in the ground…

Fred’s End Note…

With thanks to A book of Buckles by Ross Whithead for a positive ID & published by Greenlight Publishing