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Wellington boot

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This is thelatest accepted revision,reviewedon8 January 2025.

"Gumboots" and "Gumboot" redirect here. For the Paul Simon song, seeGraceland (album).

AWellington boot,often shortened towelly,[1]and also known as agumboot,rubber boot,orrain boot,[2][3]is a type ofwaterproofbootmade ofrubber.

ModernpolyurethaneWellington boots

Originally a type of leatherriding bootadapted fromHessian boots,a style of military foot wear, Wellington boots were worn and popularised byArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.They became a staple of practical foot wear for the Britisharistocracyand middle class in the early 19th century. The term was subsequently applied to waterproof rubber boots ubiquitously worn today in a range of agricultural and outdoors pursuits.

Names

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The termWellington bootcomes fromArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,who instructed his shoemaker to create the boot by modifying the design of theHessian boot.[1]The termsgumbootandrubber bootare both derived from the rubber modern Wellington boots are made from, with the term "gum" coming fromgum rubber.[4]

The termsWellington bootandgumbootare most commonly used inBritish English,with the term being occasionally used inAmerican English.Instead, the termsrubber bootandrain bootare more commonly used in American English.[2][3]Further, in American English, the termWellington bootis sometimes used to specifically refer to Wellington boots with a morefashionabledesign.[2]

History

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Origins

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TheDuke of WellingtonatWaterloo.ByJames Lonsdale,1815. Here he is portrayed wearingtasselledHessian boots

TheDuke of Wellingtoninstructed his shoemaker, Hoby of St. James's Street, London, to modify the 18th-centuryHessian boot.The resulting new boot was fabricated in soft calfskin leather, had the trim removed and was cut to fit more closely around the leg. The heels were low cut, stacked around an inch (2.5 centimetres), and the boot stopped at mid-calf. It was suitably hard-wearing for riding, yet smart enough for informal evening wear. The boot was dubbed theWellingtonand the name has stuck in English ever since. In the 1815 portrait by James Lonsdale, the Duke can be seen wearing the more formal Hessian style boots, which aretasselled.[5]

DressWellington boots,c. 1845

Wellington's utilitarian new boots quickly caught on with patriotic British gentlemen eager to emulate their war hero.[6]Considered fashionable and foppish in the best circles and worn bydandies,such asBeau Brummell,they remained the main fashion for men through the 1840s. In the 1850s they were more commonly made in the calf-high version, and in the 1860s they were both superseded by the ankle boot, except for riding. Wellington is one of the two British Prime Ministers to have given his name to an item of clothing, the other beingSir Anthony Eden(seeAnthony Eden hat) whilstSir Winston Churchillgave his name to acigar,and William Gladstone (four times prime minister between 1868 and 1894) gave his to theGladstone Bag,the classic doctor'sportmanteau.

World War I

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Production of the Wellington boot was dramatically boosted with the advent ofWorld War Iand a requirement for footwear suitable for the conditions in Europe's flooded and muddytrenches.The North British Rubber Company (nowHunter Boot Ltd) was asked by theWar Officeto construct a boot suitable for such conditions. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to meet theBritish Army's demands.[citation needed]

World War II

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InWorld War II,Hunter Boot was again requested to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. 80% of production was of war materials, from (rubber) ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. In theNetherlands,the British forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and thigh boots in vast supplies.

By the end of the war in 1945, the Wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wet weather wear. The boot had developed to become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. Also, with the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work.

Post-war

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Modern Hunternatural rubberWellington boots

The lower cost and ease of rubber "Wellington" boot manufacture, and being entirely waterproof, lent itself immediately to being the preferred protective material to leather in all forms of industry. Increased attention to occupational health and safety requirements led to thesteel toeor steel-capped Wellington: a protective (commonly internal) toe-capping to protect the foot from crush and puncture injuries. Although traditionally made of steel, the reinforcement may be a composite or a plastic material such asthermoplastic polyurethane(TPU). Such steel-toe Wellingtons are nearly indispensable in an enormous range of industry and are often mandatory wear to meet local occupational health and safety legislation or insurance requirements.

In July 1956, theMonopolies and Restrictive Practices Commissionpublished itsReport on the Supply of Certain Rubber Footwear,[7]which covered rubber boots of all kinds including Wellingtons and overboots. This 107-page official publication addressed contemporary concerns about unfair pricing of rubber footwear manufactured in the UK or imported from overseas. The appendices include lists of rubber footwear manufacturers and price-lists of each company's range of Wellington boots available in the mid-1950s.

Green Wellington boots, introduced byHunter Boot Ltdin 1955, gradually became a shorthand for "country life" in the UK.[8]In 1980, sales of their boots skyrocketed after Lady Diana Spencer (futurePrincess Diana) was pictured wearing a pair on the Balmoral estate during her courtship with Prince Charles.[8][9]

Construction

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Wellington boots were at first made of leather. However, in 1852Hiram HutchinsonmetCharles Goodyear,who had just invented thesulfur vulcanisationprocess for natural rubber. Hutchinson bought the patent to manufacture footwear and moved to France to establishÀ l'Aigle( "At the Eagle" ) in 1853, to honour his home country. Today the company is simply calledAigle.In a country where 95% of the population were working on fields withwooden clogsas they had been for generations, the introduction of the wholly waterproof, Wellington-type rubber boot became an instant success: farmers would be able to come back home with clean, dry feet.

Design

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Clockwise from top:Sperry Top-Sider,Le Chameau,Jeantex,Aigle,Gill,Helly-Hansenand Newport short and tall rubber sailing Wellingtons

Wellington boots in contemporary usage are waterproof and are most often made from rubber orpolyvinyl chloride(PVC), ahalogenatedpolymer.They are usually worn when walking on wet or muddy ground, or to protect the wearer from heavy showers andpuddles.They are generally just below knee-high although shorter boots are available.

Use

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Colourful printed rubber Wellingtons

Before its entry into the mobile phone business, rubber boots were among the best-known products ofNokia.[10][11]

Both theFinnish Defence Forcesand theSwedish Armed Forcesissue rubber boots to all soldiers for use in wet conditions and during the winter with felt liners.[12]

Cultural impact

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Gebhard Leberecht von Blücherwas Wellington's colleague at theBattle of Waterlooand there is speculation that some early emigrants to Australia, remembering the battle, may have confused a different design theBlucher shoedeveloped by Blucher. The Australian poetHenry Lawsonwrote a poem to a pair of Blucher Boots in 1890.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Wellington Boots".The Fashiongton Post.3 September 2022.Retrieved1 July2024.
  2. ^abcTuft, Karen (30 March 2022)."What Do Americans Call Wellies? (Inc Wellies History)".Wonderful Wellies.Retrieved1 July2024.
  3. ^abUniversity, Yeshiva."A Brief History of the Rain Boot".Treehugger.Retrieved1 July2024.
  4. ^Sole, Steve."Gumboots".New Zealand Geographic.Retrieved1 July2024.
  5. ^"James Lonsdale's portrait of Wellington".Gac.culture.gov.uk. 25 January 2019.Retrieved17 July2019.
  6. ^Christopher Breward, “Men in Heels: From Power to Perversity,” in Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, ed. Helen Persson (London: V&A Publishing, 2015), 137; Matthew McCormack, “Boots, Material Culture and Georgian Masculinities,” Social History 42, no. 4 (2017): 475–478
  7. ^Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission,Report on the Supply of Certain Rubber Footwear,London: HMSO, 1956. Full text retrieved on 22 February 2019 athttp://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20111202181215/http:// competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1950_1959/015footware.htm.
  8. ^ab"Will Kate kick off a war of the Wellies?".The Telegraph. 17 June 2015.
  9. ^"These were the boots that shaped the world".The Telegraph. 17 June 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 17 November 2015.
  10. ^"London Telegraph".The Telegraph.Telegraph.co.uk. 16 February 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2007.Retrieved17 July2019.
  11. ^"Finnish Footwear Sale".New York Times.28 November 1989.Retrieved17 July2019.
  12. ^"Gummistövlar M/90 /K".Dokument.forsvarsmakten.se.Retrieved17 July2019.
  13. ^"'To a Pair of Blucher Boots' by Henry Lawson ".Archived fromthe originalon 10 June 2007.Retrieved17 July2019.
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