Sam Harris, collections officer at Maidstone Museum, with a boot found in a wall dating from around 1740

by Angela Cole

It might be scuffed and dusty now, but almost 400 years ago this boot was the height of fashion and was being worn out and about by a Maidstone gentleman.

When it became past its best, he opted to wear it for work instead and, much later, he decided to leave it as a legacy within the walls of a town centre house.

We don’t know the man’s name, but we know all this from the boot he left behind, which was unearthed centuries after he last set eyes on it - inside the walls of a building in Bank Street, Maidstone.

The man’s latchet tie shoe, which was fashionable around the mid-1600s, was found inside Ahead of Beauty during renovation work to provide extra beauty rooms.

It is one of the oldest examples of shoes and clothing found inside walls of old properties discovered in Maidstone.

Sam Harris and Toni Hanmer from Ahead of Beauty with the boot

At Maidstone Museum there is one, dating from 1740, which was found in 1990 in a house in Upper Stone Street, but the latest find is thought to be 100 years earlier.

Salon owner and director Laura Wood said: “We were very surprised when we found it in there. It’s a great piece of history.”

But she added: “It has been there all these years, so it really should go back. Let’s appreciate it and then let’s put it back – that’s our view.”

Sam Harris, collections officer at Maidstone Museum, who visited the boot in situ, said: “With its narrow square curved toe and small open sides, it seems consistent with the style of shoe fashionable during the mid 17th century and is likely to have been bought for best wear and later used for work when it became worn.

“This is supported by the fact that the shoe is in a poor condition, with the leather covered in compacted dust and dirt (possibly building materials if it did indeed belong to the original builders) and the hobnails are rusted and worn.

“It is a fascinating find, being a piece of personal history, costume history and folklore too."