From the front line to the front row: A potted history of the Wellington boot and some of our favourites to buy right now
Soldiers, aristocrats, Paddington Bear and models have all donned a pair of welly boots.
It all began with a troublesome tassel.
In the late 18th century, British Army officers wore boots called ‘Hessians’, a knee-high style with a curved top like a riding boot, made of highly polished calfskin and decorated with a tassel.
A satirical political cartoon of the Duke of Wellington, published in 1827 after the Duke was appointed commander-in-chief of the British Army.
Soldiers stationed in warmer climates began replacing their woollen breeches with lightweight linen trousers — however the tighter trouser style failed to work with the tassel. In the early 1800s, Arthur Wellesley, the then Viscount Wellington, was so disgruntled by the situation that he wrote to his shoemaker, George Hoby of St James’s Street, requesting something more suitable. ‘He wanted an English boot that could stand proud anywhere in the world,’ says Adam Edwards in A Short History of the Wellington Boot (2006).
Hoby’s adjustments included: removing the tassel, shortening the boot and waxing the leather to make it more weatherproof. The result was a slimline boot that could be worn in battle, while riding and in the evening, at informal occasions. It was the everyday boot that the Viscount needed, and, given his increasing fame as a war hero and a fashionable man, a style that British gentlemen soon coveted. The boots were nicknamed ‘Wellingtons’.
Queen Victoria was seemingly intrigued by the Viscount’s new footwear. ‘People call them Wellingtons, ma’am,’ he told her. ‘How absurd!’ she replied, before going on to say: ‘Where, I should like to know, would one find a pair of Wellingtons?’
Judges done their boots at the Brailsford Ploughing Match on June 15, 1950.
A model walks down the runway in white rubber boots at Versace's Autumn-Winter 2020 show.
The boots quickly became a symbol of patriotism and pride. Until, that is, the now Duke became Prime Minister in 1828 and political cartoonists parodied his boots and prominent nose in their drawings. By 1830, he’d been reduced to a Wellington boot with a head.
In 1856, American entrepreneurs Henry Lee Norris and Spencer Thomas Parmelee landed in Scotland and established the North British Rubber Company (now Hunter Boot Ltd.). The Company manufactured rubber goods using Charles Goodyear’s vulcanised material and their existing ‘gum’ boots adopted the name ‘Wellington’.
When the First World War broke out, the company was commissioned to produce more than one million pairs of Wellingtons as standard winter kit for ordinary soldiers. At the end of the War, soldiers brought them home to wear on farms, in the garden and on muddy walks. The extremely practical footwear soon found its footing in working industries, steel toe-capped versions appeared soon after.
Le Chameau has been crafting Wellingtons since 1927. They were the first master bootmaker to use a zipper on a rubber boot, and are the only brand to produce rubber boots constructed by one Mastre Bottier. At least nine months of training is required before a Mastre is entrusted with crafting their first pair of boots.
Some of you might associate Wellington boots with Paddington Bear, others with welly wanging championships held throughout the countryside — and some with supermodel Kate Moss, traipsing the fields of Glastonbury. I, however, picture the Autumn-Winter 2020 runway shows: Miuccia Prada sent candy-coloured wellies down the catwalk and Donatella Versace paired tailored dresses with slick patent black boots. A true multi-functional hero with international appeal.
These boots were made for walking
