Why everyone’s talking about... Wellies
The great British outdoors is now at its squelchiest, so thoughts turn to a good pair of wellies. Named after the 1st Duke of Wellington, right?
Indeed. Fresh from walloping Napoleon at Waterloo, in 1817 Arthur Wellesley asked his shoemaker George Hoby to create something tough enough for riding yet smart enough for evening wear. The leather design quickly caught on with patriotic Brits wanting to emulate him.
So when did they start being made of rubber?
After Charles Goodyear invented vulcanisation, he licensed the process, which makes rubber strong, to a US entrepreneur who set up the North British Rubber Company in Edinburgh in 1856, turning out boots, tyres, golf balls, hot water bottles and more. In the First World War, it manufactured 1.2million pairs of wellies for Tommies. Other pioneers included Nokia, once the world’s largest maker of wellies before turning to mobile phones.
And the now-fashionable green style?
In 1956, the Scottish firm, by then called Hunter Boot, introduced a classic ‘Original Tall’ design, boasting that they didn’t get stuck in the mud. Sales were slow initially but soared in 1981 after Lady Diana Spencer was pictured in a pair at Balmoral. Afterwards, writers Ann Barr and Peter York said: ‘London Sloanes sprout green wellies in wet weather like a plague of frogs.’
Any other celebrity fans?
Hunter holds Royal Warrants to supply the Queen and Prince Philip. Another sales boost came after Kate Moss, below, wore a pair at Glastonbury in 2005. And every Team GB gold medallist from the 2008 Olympics has a gold pair.
Very sporting!
Don’t forget the pursuit of welly wanging. Finland’s Teppo Luoma holds the record, chucking a size 8 Dunlop 210ft.
But are Hunters losing their shine? The firm went bust in 2006. After it was rescued, manufacture of its £100 boots switched to China. Some aficionados swear they haven’t been the same since, and have switched to UK-made Goodyear. The Du chess of Cambridge has worn French brand Le Chameau. Still, sales of Hunter’ s Original T al ls soared 89 per cent last year. That’s a lot of booty.