Overshoe, patten

The wooden overshoes called pattens were worn in London from the middle ages. They lifted the wearer above the unpaved or uneven streets, filled with dust in summer, mud in winter, and refuse from daily life and animals all year round. Worn over normal shoes and helping to protect them, pattens' straps fastened over the foot to hold them on, but also allow them to be removed easily when going indoors. The straight piece of wood could be carved into a platform and reinforced with nails, or have a raised iron ring attached.

The noise of pattens striking or clicking on hard surfaces was a familiar part of the London soundscape. Pierre Jean Grosley wrote in his 'A Tour To London' (1772 ) 'All the women that walk the streets of London, wear these pattens, which make an odd sort of rattling'.