51/700/1-2

Pattens are wooden shoes with an iron hoop beneath that were used by most countrywomen as overshoes to keep their feet out of the mud in the farmyard and around the dairy. These pattens have a wooden sole with leather toe caps and side pieces, and are riveted on to an iron ring. The laces are missing. They were made for Miss Belcher, who must have had very small feet, but were never delivered to her. They probably came from East Hendred, Oxfordshire, and Lavinia Smith acquired them in a jumble sale.

1 pair of pattens: wood; metal; leather; good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'Pattens are a type of clog with wooden soles and an iron hoop beneath them which practically every country woman wore to keep her feet out of the mud of the farmyard or country road. They have leather toe pieces and two leather bands that tied together over the instep. Mrs. Pepys wore them for the muddy lanes on the outskirts of London. They are mentioned in Dicken’s Bleak House as used by the maid, Charley, in the wash house, and they were also used in the dairy and other damp places. // This pair probably came from East Hendred (Berks.). They were made for Miss Belcher but were never delivered to her, and Miss Smith obtained them from a jumble sale. Both oval shaped irons are attached to the wooden sole by two short legs, riveted to the wood. The leather toe caps and the side pieces are nailed down. The leather of the side pieces is tooled with a design incorporating a corn stock. There is a hole in each leather for the laces which are now missing. // These pattens are a very small size, the sole measuring only 9 inches in length.', Lavinia Smith Catalogue (D60/28) - 'A list of the contents of the East Hendred museum. July 5 1940. // 449. A pair of pattens, made for Miss Belcher but never delivered to her. Put in a jumble sale forthreepence.', Lavinia Smith Catalogue (D60/28) [page 22] - 'No.449 // [pencil sketch] // Pattens', Heritage of the Hendreds Exhibition Catalogue 1969 - 'Catalogue of Exhibits // Number 33 // Pattens // Lent by The Museum of English Rural Life' (The description in the catalogue could also be in reference to 51/702/1-2, 51/701/1-2 and 51/786/1-2)

Wood, Metal, Leather

Rippon, Miss Dorothy May Lyddon (Agent)
Belcher, Miss