If one piece of footwear could sum up British society it would be the Wellington Boot, a true national institution.
It was indeed the Duke of Wellington who originated the design, getting his cobbler to create a shorter version of standard leather cavalry boots. His idea was to have footwear that would serve in battle and be comfortable for social occasions. With Wellington’s eternal fame assured by the victory at Waterloo in 1815, the aristocracy adopted his boot as a fashion statement for the next 30 years and more.
After the vulcanizing process was developed in the USA such boots began to be made in rubber, far cheaper than leather. This version rapidly became popular with farm-workers as it kept feet dry and warm in bad weather. For the same reasons the rubber boot was invaluable in WWI , when the British Army sourced more than 1 million pairs, though such were the appalling conditions that trench-foot still hit many thousands.
Later in the 20th century different types of welly identified wearers with different social groups: the green welly brigade were the Range Rover-driving county gentlefolk (the Queen often spotted similarly shod), and soon their imitators; black wellies for the workers of the world on building sites and farms again; in the 1960s and onwards wellies decorated with flowers were modish for some rock festival attendees; and from the 1980s operatives - as opposed to workers - in hi-tech clean-rooms donned white versions.
Celebrated in song by Billy Connolly in the 1970s, the welly is part of our culture. Today garishly coloured and even polka-dot designs perhaps say something about our move to a brighter world.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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