Object: Fenland Skates
Date: Circa 1850 and 1940
Category: Lifestyle
Museum Listing: CAMFK: 10.48
Price of Adoption: £12.50/month
These Norwegian boot skates are one of the first examples of an all-in-one skate. Designed by the Norwegian company L.H. Hagen & Co. they would have been used to skate on the fens during winter.
When fields flooded during the winter months, the shallow water would often freeze creating a playground for Fenlanders. This happened so often that most people living in the Fens had their own skates; a simply designed blade strapped to the bottom of the shoe, known as a ‘Fen Runner.’ However, these innovative all-in-one skates would have been worn by the more competitive skaters; including those at the World Championships, which were held on frozen Fenland fields. These championships featured international competitors and local World champion skaters, including Larman Register, William ‘Turkey’ Smart and William ‘Gutta’ Percher’.