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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. This patten has a wooden sole with a leather toe cap and side pieces riveted on to an iron ring. The laces are missing. The patten was found in a barn at Kennford, Devon. It is one of two which were eventually given to MERL, however the two pattens do not appear to be a pair.

1 patten: wood, leather, metal

MERL Recording form – ‘Who used it: Female farm servants, dairy maids, perhaps the farmer’s wife. // When was it used: This particular pair is probably late 19th c. // How was it used: Shod feet were slipped into them to keep the wearer’s out of the farmyard muck or snow. // Where was it used: At Kennford, Devon. // Has it a local name: I never heard any other name for them but pattens. // When this object was used do you know if it was common in many parts of the country or only in the place from which it came: Common to all parts of Devon. // Who made it: Local workman. They are very roughly made. // When was it made: Probably about 1890. // Where was it made: there would have been a local patten maker of cobbler. // From what materials is the object made: Wood, iron & leather. It is possibly that the iron would be made in the smithy & the rest by a local shoe maker. // Is it corroded or broken or damaged in any other way: Yes, the iron is very rusty & there is some worm in the wood. // What are its approximate measurements: // Have you a photograph of the object: // Has it any unusual characteristics: // Additional information: These were found in a barn at Kennford after the death of the survivor of two Miss Sandfords. House & precincts are being cleared up by the young couple who appear to have inherited the property. They brought in some of the old ladies’ clothing & I asked them if they had any patterns. They brought me four! It was just a shot in the dark that came off. // Could you please make a rough sketch of the object:’, Letter, Freda Wills, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, to Margaret Fuller, MERL, 20 November 1963 – ‘Dear Miss Fuller, // I have just acquired two pairs of wooden pattens. They are not in very good order, but that is really not surprising. // We have only room for one pair here. Would you like me to send you the other pair? Both have slight woodworm. Perhaps you already have plenty. // Yours sincerely // Freda Wills.’

Devon

1890 - 1890

Wood, Metal, Leather