Clogs - research road trip to Northampton

 

Trying to find out more about children's clogs led me down the rabbit hole of 'concealed shoes' 

Since the 1300s there has been a tradition of hiding shoes in the chimneys and walls of buildings. These are often discovered many years later.

Northampton Museum holds the index for concealed shoe finds. I was fortunate to book a visit to their archive to look at the register and view the documents they hold about concealed shoes. 

June Swann who was the shoe curator at the museum wrote an article "shoes concelaed in buildings" for a journal article in 1996 whch proved a very useful source of information

The shoe galleries at the Northampton Museum are great - lots of information about the history or shoes, how they are made, and the people who made them

Some of the sewing machines used to stitch the leather uppers -including one adapted by Singer for this purpose

I love a bit of industrial heritage. 

Lasts.  If you are ever in Northampton I would highly recommend a visit to the museum.

But the highlight of my visit was being given access to the shoe archive - thousands of pairs of shoes, all catalogued and stored. 

The curator Rebecca Shawcross allowed me to handle (with gloves of course) some of the concealed shoes they have in the collection. 

Information about when made, the materials used, when donated, where found and sometimes who discovered the concealed shoes. 

Often these were builders whilst doing repair work to old buildings but it is the house owner who gets the named credit. 

But we NEVER know who were the original wearers - the shoes could have been there for several hundred years

 

Many concealed shoes are a single - what happened to the other one?

This is a clog with studs around the metal trim - like the ones I found. But a clasp fitting.

Some concealed shoes had laces. Most were in poor condition obviously been worn, repaired, and performing one last act to ward off evil spirits. 

Because shoes take on the shape of their wearers they are so symbolic of the human condition. This gives a poignancy I think.

Some concealed shoes are in very poor condition. Where they like tht when hidden? Or deteriorated through their period of concealment. Many were hidden in chimneys so could have been scorched or discoloured with smoke and soot. 

I feel quite protective of them, and their unknown wearers

Almost half of the concealed shoes found were children's shoes. Why?

Were these the shoes of a dead child? Placed in a building to protect the health of a sibling or future children? 

Infant and child mortality was high in working class families.  

My research has also revealed many superstitions about shoes and their link to not only good and bad luck but also to fertility - more of that in the next blog.

I am enjoying this research