Wellington boot
The Duke of Wellington’s plain riding boot – ancestor of the rubber boot.
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, asked his bootmaker to modify the military Hessian boot: without a tassel, with a lower heel and so slim that it could be worn under the new trousers.
The boot became fashionable among gentlemen in England. When rubber arrived in the 1850s it was also made in rubber – which is why rubber boots are called wellingtons in English.
Materials: Calf leather
Manufacture: Made by shoemakers in London to the Duke’s wishes, from around 1817.
The tall shaft without decoration or tassel.
The low heel.
The smooth leather that could be worn under trousers.