Like shooting, it was all a bit hit and miss

The evolution of grouse shooting gear is the history of fashion, war, the growth of the British transport network, the birth of tourism, the advancement of material science and even a biography of our relationship with the royal family. This may sound a little grandiose, but it is absolutely true. For the past couple of centuries, all of the above — and even elements of the industrial revolution and polar exploration — have had an influence on the garb that Guns and beaters have worn in a quest to bag the delicious red grouse. 

Working from the bottom: lovely chevroned, moulded rubber soles were not commonplace until the end of the 19th century. This followed the invention of the process for rubber vulcanization by Charles Goodyear. Prior to this it had been Hessian — made of calfskin, rather than what the name suggests — wellington and hobnail boots in various combinations. The early wellingtons — inspired by Arthur Wellesley, the eponymous duke, when he wanted fewer tassels on his Hessians — were not coated in rubber until 1856, when the Edinburgh-based company Hunter pioneered it. 

However, these rubber wellies were not truly popularised and seen on the moors at all until after World War I, during which the British military ordered millions of them from Hunter to help soldiers avoid trench foot in the saturated conditions of the front lines. 

Tackety boot 

More commonly seen protecting the back paws of Guns on the grouse moors through the 19th century was the hobnail boot. This was usually crafted from cow or horse hide and complemented with a linen or leather gaiter. The hobnail — or tackety boot in Scotland — was so called because of the small rivets pressed through the sole to provide traction on soft, slippery surfaces. The practice has been around for millennia and was even common with Roman legionnaires, who had studs in their caligae (sandals). 

Often the boots used on the moors had a double- or triple-buckled strap at the top to provide extra support for the ankle and to prevent any detritus from making its way inside. 

Purdey’s men’s grain leather twin strap boots are almost identical to vintage boots of this sort, as are House of Bruar’s men’s three-quarter leather buckle boot, or the chestnut grain leather 9in men’s Marsh Harrier walking boot from Field & Moor. While giving an uncomplicated vintage look, these three styles have been given all the modern bells and whistles to keep you dry and your ankles unrolled. 

The mid-calf linen gaiters that often accompanied boots like these can be seen on the stylish King George V in numerous photos of him sitting in grouse butts smoking and reading, while his loaders studiously keep watch for the first flush. With pleasing symmetry, these short gaiters are reminiscent of the feathered spats worn by the grouse himself. In the 19th century, worn instead of the gaiter but serving the same function, was the puttee, a cloth bandage wound round the leg over the boot, much seen in military contexts. 

Leather gaiters have all but vanished from the shooting field and are almost exclusively worn by polo players and other equestrians, as well as sometimes by some of the more flamboyant militaries. 

Although waxed cotton, canvas and hardwearing linen are all useful fabrics in the outdoors, I would still plump for a modern gaiter made of Gore-Tex, which have been available since the invention of this extraordinary fabric in the 1969. Lots of high-end gaiters now also promise to be anti-tick, which is of increasing importance in the changing climate. Today, I would go for something like the Härkila Pro GTX gaiters. 

Shooting socks and garters are items that have changed relatively little from the early days of grouse shooting. Visually, the modern sock closely resembles the version from 150 years ago. All that has changed in the world of men’s sporting hosiery is the splicing in of slightly more exotic wools and synthetic fibres. Alan Paine’s sumptuous bordeaux and olive socks are aesthetically indistinguishable from those that were worn by dukes and earls for centuries as they plodded to their butts. But now, as well as wool, they include 10% nylon and 5% Lycra. This means they wear harder and give a little stretch for those with a full calf. 

Legendary 

Tom Lane makes all its branded socks, including the good-looking Fiddich sock in blue lovat. It is made from merino wool that originally came from Spain and would not have been available when driven grouse shooting came to prominence. The qualities of merino wool are legendary; last year I wore a merino underlayer almost solidly for eight weeks without a wash while paddling down the river Danube. Despite my own personal state of degradation, it barely carried any odour. This is terrific news for when you remove your boots at the end of the day by the fire and don’t need to worry about putting other guests off their supper or asphyxiating children. 

At various points in the 19th century, differing lengths of breeks became fashionable, while the manner in which they interacted with the sock, gaiter or boot altered mildly. From the mid to later 19th century, for a time full-length shooting trousers were favoured, with the bottom 10in or so often being faced with leather. This was to allow for easy cleaning and to keep the undergrowth from snatching at the delicate and pale shins of the wearer. 

Balmorality 

Generally speaking, however, tweed breeks have been de rigueur for the battue style of shooting throughout its history. Tweed was used as a standard fabric in Scotland for many hundreds of years, but it was heavily promoted for upper-class sporting endeavours during the balmorality and tartanry movements, which idealised Scottish traditions and culture. These periods coincided with the appropriation of Highland culture that followed Queen Victoria’s lease of Balmoral in 1848, and her subsequent adoration of all things Scottish, which as a side-effect sparked Scotland’s tourist industry. At this time, Prince Albert designed the Balmoral tartan, with strong greys and subtle purples to blend with the granite and heather of Aberdeenshire. 

Although the practice of creating an estate tweed remains alive and well, a waterproof layer is now usually inserted into the lining of these garments to maintain a classic look with modern performance. Much like the advances in socks, modern materials have been included in today’s breeks. Laksen tweed men’s waterproof plus-fours from William Powell or Musto’s men’s stretch Gore-Tex tweed breeks both feature breathable but waterproof membranes. And due to the inclusion of Lycra, they allow enormous freedom of movement. 

Moleskin breeks can be just as effective and comfortable but I think they lack a little flair. There is the danger you will look a bit more Peter Pan-cum-medieval squire than moorland debonair. 

Cartridge pockets 

Shooting coats have closely followed the fashions of other garments over the years. Throughout the 19th century, at times they mirrored the cut of morning coats or frock coats. Pockets came and went but the mass production of the centrefire cartridge by Eley in 1865 meant that large pockets on the skirts of shooting jackets became popular for storing extra ammunition. 

Collars flounced about a bit and evolved throughout the 1800s. The erect Prussian collar gained popularity in shooting wear when relations with Prussia were good. It protected the wearer from inclement weather and a dousing of rain down the back of the neck, but it fell out of fashion as relations deteriorated. 

A style that was pushed to the fore in game shooting from the 1860s onward was the Norfolk jacket. This is a loose, single-breasted tweed jacket with box pleats on the back and front, and a belt or half-belt. It was originally designed for the Duke of Norfolk as a shooting coat that did not bind when the elbow was raised to fire. It was championed by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, whose country residence was Sandringham in Norfolk. 

Endeavours 

The Norfolk jacket was utilised for all sorts of sporting endeavours, and was even worn proudly by King Alfonso XIII during his chamois hunting excursions in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain. If you fancy one, Cordings does an excellent and fully authentic brown tweed Norfolk hunting jacket that is well worth a look. 

Waxed jackets began to feature as Barbour built on the waterproofing methods of the Scottish fishermen, who first impregnated cloth with fish oil to make it impermeable. John Barbour improved this process by using linseed oil, a byproduct of flax growing, and today waxed jackets are everywhere. 

Meanwhile, Thomas Burberry was refining and patenting a method of creating a tightly woven and waterproof woollen twill fabric called gabardine. This fabric kept George Mallory warm on his ill-fated attempt on Everest and was seen increasingly across the grouse moors of Britain at the turn of the century. John Partridge & Co still produces shooting coats in weatherproof gabardine, including the robust lowland shooting jacket. 

Jaunty 

As a young man Edward VIII, latterly the Duke of Windsor, enjoyed strutting around the Highlands in a rather gaudy Fair Isle jumper, which immediately popularised them nationwide. He often paired his jaunty geometric knitwear in the field with a floppy eight-panelled flat cap. Hats of a century ago generally had more material than those now, as can be seen from General Montgomery’s windsock of a beret when compared with the same military staple today. 

The options of shooting hats were different from today but no less varied. At the top of society when in the butt, Edward VII and George V were both partial to a homburg and there was a good sprinkling of fedoras, trilbies and the odd flapless deerstalker. Schöffel makes a very reasonable and practical shooting fedora that looks classic and timeless while being eminently practical. 

Although the styles of clothing for grouse shooting have evolved modestly in aesthetic and plenty in performance, little has changed in the way of the guns used for 150 years or so. Diggory Hadoke, editor of The Vintage Gun Journal, says: “Guns of the postwar decades are, to my mind, essentially recent manifestations of old technology. They offer little in terms of improvement and nothing in terms of innovation.” 

So, save for the odd over-and-under, the firearms taking down the cackling cock grouse in present day remain broadly the same.