| The
origin of wooden footwear is thought to be the Roman bath
shoe, the purpose being to protect the wearers feet from
the hot tiled floors. A pair of clogs were found in the
tomb of an Italian king in the 10th century although its
quite certain that they didn't bear any resemblance to
what we call clogs in this country. Throughout the ages
the clog has been a symbol of the working classes and
shunned as a sign of poverty because it has always been
a practical shoe and has never kept up with the fashion.
The
Welsh people always had a pair of clogs for working week
days and leather, best shoes for Sundays and that was
at the beginning of this century. They style of the shoe
and the type of wood used was dependant on the work of
the wearer.
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Workers
on the fish wharves would have a leather flap to
keep out splashing water and the miner would have
a special clog called the Blucher Boot after the
designer which had a low cut off heel so that he
could easily slip it off if it was trapped. The
workers in the warm-floored tin and steel works
would have thick soles.
Cardigan
people prided themselves on having durable Sycamore
soled clogs while birch was preferred in Scotland.
Birch was also preferred in the mining areas as
it had a high resin and was more water resistant.
With the industrial revolution came mechanisation
and cheap shoes which hastened the decline of clogs
in this country and although there was a short lived
resurgence during the first world war leather shoes
were fast pushing out the unstylish and heavy clog. |
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