Ever since we were small, Hunter Boots have featured in our families, even now our grandchildren are proudly wearing their boots. So it is with an imense sense of pride that we are able to partner and present a product that is very close to our hearts.
Founded in 1856, Hunter is a progressive British heritage brand renowned for its iconic Original boot and holds two Royal Warrants of Appointment to HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The brand has a rich history of innovation and continues to design to protect from the elements and perform on varied landscapes.
Hunter was born out of the British obsession to unearth something new. Forged by the desire to discover, the spirit of Hunter was created. We take the path that others dare not take. Always innovating, always evolving what it means to be British, we pursue a simple, perfect function. Since 1856, they have equipped the people who want to find their own path. If you're born a pioneer, you're always living in an era of discovery.
Did you know that the Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from a style of military riding boot. They were worn and made popular by Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became a staple of practical foot wear for the British aristocracy and middle class in the early 19th century. The name was subsequently given to waterproof boots made of rubber.
Up until the 1850s, Wellington boots were made from leather. What prompted the change in material was the discovery in 1844 by Charles Goodyear of vulcanized rubber (Hardening rubber with Sulfur), this sent the wellington boot in a whole new direction. As a result the Wellington boot went from a leather military boot to vulcanized rubber work boots in just a few years.
This new waterproof design brought the boot back to the battlefield, where soldiers wore wellingtons in the wet and cold trenches of World War I and in inclement weather during World War II.
Image from Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Art Resource, New York.
During WW1 Hunter Boot Ltd. was contracted to produce large amounts of rubber Wellington boots for the troops. Trenches were saturated and sturdy boots that would keep their feet as dry as possible was a must. ‘Trench foot’, a painful tissue-damaging condition of the feet caused by long exposures to cold water or mud was extremely common in the often flooded conditions. The boots were a major success, and Hunter Boot ran its mill day and night to keep up with a demand that exceeded over 1 million boots. Hunter’s boots were so dependable for wet conditions that they were once again requested by the British Army to supply the troops during WW2.
The globally recognised Hunter Wellington boot was first introduced in 1956, with each pair still handcrafted from 28 individual parts. For more than 160 years, Hunter has built on this heritage expanding the footwear collection to introduce outerwear, bags and accessories, to protect from the weather and perform across all terrains.
To the right is one of the most iconic photos of Princess Diana wearing her Hunter boots in 1981, just a few months before their royal wedding. Many other celebrities now sport the boot, including the likes of Kate Moss who was famously pictured wearing her Hunter Boots at Glastonbury festival in 2005.
