Object: Histon Giant’s Boot
Date: 19th Century
Category: Folklore
Museum Listing: CAMFK: 1.2011B
Price of Adoption: £25.00/month
This extraordinarily large boot was owned by Moses Carter (1801–1860) a local strongman who lived in the village of Histon in the nineteenth century. He stood nearly seven feet tall and weighed 23 stone when he was fully grown, and was affectionately known locally as ‘The Histon Giant’.
Moses earned his living by growing vegetables on Histon Moor. It was said that he could pull a harrow by himself, as if he was a horse. He was often seen in Cambridge with his handcart laden with vegetables.
Moses often entered boxing competitions for money, and was a regular fighter at Stourbridge Fair. Once, he wagered that he would not be able to carry a huge rock outside the village, he did and dropped it on the corner of The Boot public house, where it still stands today.