Shoe Patten…

Foot Pattern… 1750’s

This oval Shoe Patten or sometimes called shoe irons, were riveted to a piece of wood, which was then attached to the underneath of a shoe via leather straps to lift the wearer out of the mud, these were often banned from use in churches due to the noise they made on the stone floors… View the pictures below of how they would have looked when in use, even with the wood being made of Alder, which although being hard wearing it is a very durable material…

Due to the lack of repair or no road structure these foot patterns were an evil necessity, from the early medieval period, and remained in use right up to the 20th century, walking over wet grass, muddy footpaths and roads these were a blessing for the wearer, even maids wearing them indoors to keep their feet warm from the cold stone kitchen floors, the one found here, comes from a ditch clearance & dates from the mid 1700’s and has an oval foot plate which comes into contact with the ground, with the wooden plate missing, but still has the rivets that used to hold the wooden platform in situ, still visible…

Fred’s End Note…