A lost relic from the past that is not easy to find in Gosport. However if you know where to look there are a few that remain. Boot scrapers were necessary in the mid to late Victorian period when the number of horses used for transport increased. Gosport’s roads were dry in Summer, needing water carts to dampen the dust, and wet in Winter resulting in mire, mud and worse encrusting boots and shoes. A boot scraper was therefore integrated into the front wall of many late victorian terraced houses, adjacent to the door. Convenient for removing mud and manure from the bottom of your shoe or boot, the scrapers admirably served their purpose for many years until most of Gosport’s residential streets were upgraded with a pavement, keeping traffic separate from pedestrians. The more affluent residents who owned a house with a front garden could also purchase a movable, cast iron boot scraper, which could be put outside when needed and taken in when not to save it cluttering up the garden path.
The military forts of the Gosport Advanced Line, Brockhurst, Grange and Rowner, were used throughout their life as barrack accommodation for troops in transit. Military boots were in need of ‘de-mudding’ before a soldier entered his barrack room so a boot scraper was conveniently placed outside of each and every barrack room. Officer’s quarters were also provided with one.
Terry Rendall, who also has a passion for boot scrapers and other interesting objects from Gosport’s past, has kindly supplied this photograph of a boot scraper which he fitted to the front of his house over forty years ago.
Original page created by David Moore.