Shoes and the Georgian Man event image at York Mansion House, St Helen's Square, York, YO1 9QL
York Georgian Festival 2026

Shoes and the Georgian Man

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
York Mansion House, St Helen's Square, York, YO1 9QL (YO1 9QL)

About This Event

Shoes are everyday objects but they are loaded with meaning. In this talk, Matthew McCormack will discuss his new book,Shoes and the Georgian Man, which shows how shoes relate closely to the bodies of their wearers.

Thinking about shoes as material objects, he studied historic shoes first-hand in museums, in order to ascertain their physical properties and what they would have been like to wear. Worn shoes preserve traces of the wearer's body in their indentations, stretches and scuffs, providing a unique primary source about their wearer.

Studying historic shoes can tell us about social, occupational and gender roles – in particular, they tell us about what it meant to be a man in the eighteenth century.

Put your best foot forward and join us for this fascinating talk as part ofYork Georgian Festival- you’ll be greeted with a glass of cloudy lemonade and afterwards there will be Q&A session led by Adam Smith, from York St John University, and the opportunity to buy copies of the book.

Start time: 13:30 (Doors open 13:15)

Dates: 10th Aug 26, 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Categories: Festivals, Tours & Guides, Entertainment, Family Friendly, Great Outdoors

Book tickets at the event website.

Contact: Phone: 01904 553663, Email: mansionhouse@york.gov.uk