A Rare Surviving Pair of Late 17th - Early 18th Century Antique Wooden Pattens with Original Iron Rings and Leather Straps

A Rare Surviving Pair of Antique Wooden Pattens with Original Iron Rings and Leather Straps.

A remarkable and genuinely rare survivor — a pair of antique wooden pattens, retaining their original iron rocker rings and leather instep straps, secured with hand-cut iron nails. Pattens of this type were worn over shoes or boots to elevate the foot clear of the mud, filth, and standing water of unpaved streets and farmyards, and were in common use across England and Northern Europe from the medieval period through to the early nineteenth century. To find a matched pair in this condition, with both the iron rings and the original leather strapping substantially intact, is highly unusual and speaks to careful preservation over several centuries.

Each patten is formed from a single piece of shaped hardwood (elm), cut to follow the profile of the foot with a rounded toe and angled heel. Beneath each sole is mounted a forged iron ring or hoop, oval in form, which acted as a rocker to keep the wooden base clear of the ground surface. The leather instep straps are nailed in place with hand-wrought iron nails, the heads of which remain visible on the upper surface. One patten retains remnants of its original leather lace or tie. The wood has acquired a fine aged patina throughout, ranging from pale silver-grey at the toe to a rich warm brown across the body, the whole surface showing the honest wear and character of long working use. The iron rings have developed a deep rust patina consistent with great age.

Pattens are documented in English use from at least the fourteenth century and are referenced frequently in period literature, household accounts, and probate inventories. They were worn by men and women alike, across all social classes, and remained in everyday rural use well into the Georgian period. Surviving examples are collected by museums and social history enthusiasts alike; a pair with original fittings of this completeness is a genuinely uncommon find.

An outstanding example of vernacular English material culture, and a fascinating object of social history.

Provenance: England, Circa late 17th–early 18th Century.

Material: Leather strap. Wooden sole (most probably elm). Iron rings.

Condition: Please refer to the self-explanatory images.

Dimensions (approximate):

Length: 26 cm (10 3/8")