Pattens – ‘Outdoor Footwear’
Craven Museum & Gallery
During Georgian and Victorian times, the shoes worn by the middle and upper classes were often beautifully designed, in line with contemporary fashions. However, they did not stand up to the demands of walking in the dirty streets, which would have been much filthier than ours are today. This was due to the popularity of horses for transport and because the materials we take for granted for road building today, such as tarmac, hadn’t been invented and roads got much muddier, especially in wet weather.
If ladies and gentlemen wished to venture out in fashionable footwear, a pair of noisy, wooden pattens (clog-style outer shoes) would be worn as well. Jane Austen commented on the noise made in her novel Persuasion, describing the ‘ceaseless clink of pattens’ in Bath.
Wearing pattens inside showed bad manners, so they were removed along with cloaks upon entering a home.
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Activity coming soon…
Talking Points
Why do you think Georgian streets were dirtier than ours today? What sorts of things would have made them dirty?
Look carefully at the patten outer shoes. Do you think they would have been comfortable to wear?
How are they different from the shoes that you wear outdoors?
Imagine trying to do a range of different everyday activities in them. What do you think you’d find hard about wearing them?
What do you look for in a pair of shoes? How do you make a decision about what to buy?
Have you ever chosen a pair of shoes that weren’t very practical? What made you choose them?
Why do you think people didn’t wear practical footwear, such as boots, to visit their friends?
In the Classroom
Mime
Imagine trying to walk in these pattens. Mime trying to walk fast in them with the pattens falling off.
Museum Location
