BOOT AND SHOE MAKERS

Our September meeting began with the AGM and was followed immediately by a fascinating talk on the manufacture of boots and shoes given by Geoff Lee. The talk was well illustrated by slides of shoes and fashion changes through the ages.
We saw a diagram of the 13 parts needed to make a hand made leather Oxford mans shoe.
There is evidence from wall paintings that the Egyptians wore sandals. Plain style for the common folk and elaborate sandals with curled toe sections for the elite.
The Romans were the first to have an industry for making footware. They tanned leather and made strong sandals that had riveted soles through an insole. Second century invaders made a turn shoe that was made inside out for easier construction & then turned and made waterproof.
Originally shoes were made with no left or right fittings, one wore the shoes & they moulded themselves the persons own foot shape.
In our family trees we often see the word cordwainer to describe a boot & shoe maker which is in fact a misnomer, for a cordwainer was a man who handled & provided the skins of mouflon sheep & goats skin to the shoe maker who worked from his home. We heard that to call a shoemaker a cobbler was an insult.
Every village would have several boot makers, often father & son plying their own businesses & in the cities there would be hundreds.
We saw slides of the very uncomfortable looking shoes worn by Henry V111, & shoes & boots, some in remarkable condition found aboard Henry’s ship ‘Mary Rose’.
In 1650 woman wore peculiar high heeled shoes called clap shoes – this because of the sound of a loose part of the extended shoe sole hitting the heel as they walked- a fashion statement no doubt.
In 17C silk mules with shaped heels, were worn by gentleman.
In 1750 it became fashionable for men to show their wealth by wearing silver buckles on their shoes.
In 1800 ladies often made their own shoes from fabric and added elaborate embroidery, & we saw the tools they used.
In 17C apprentices were trained to become shoemakers, going on to become journeymen & then setting up their own business.
Boot and shoemakers joined the armed services to provide boots & shoes to the troops in the field.
It is known that a farmer employing Ag. Labs had to provide the men with boots for the first year.
In industry shoes were hand made by many processes before a shoe was complete. Each man had his own tools & never changed his particular process.
Progress brought machines to do the work and the need for workers diminished until today when leather is not often used & the whole process is virtually automated.
The talk finished with Geoff showing his family history of cordwainers. .
[Barbara Holmes]