About Hunter
Although Hunter is, in many ways, a traditional and old-fashioned company, they have also embraced the 21st Century and have welcomed the fact that their products are now worn by a much wider range of people and used for a much wider range of activities than during the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Hunter has also moved from being a Scottish company with a predominantly British clientele to being a truly global brand with a range of products which reveals the proud heritage of the company while also reflecting modern trends in style and fashion.

We take great pride in delivering top quality product and service to customers and markets around the world and a programme of continuous improvement ensures that they do not rest on our laurels. Indeed, not only are they constantly trying to improve upon our already great products, but they are also seeking out and designing new products to satisfy consumer demand.

Royal Warrants
Over the years, Hunter has received much recognition, but particular pride is taken in The Royal Warrants of Appointment as suppliers of waterproof footwear to HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
Royal Warrants are a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services for at least five years to certain members of the Royal Family. They have always been regarded as a mark of excellence and quality, and are highly prized.

The Royal Warrant is recognition of personal service to the highest order. It is granted to a named individual within the company who is then responsible for ensuring that the Warrant is correctly used.

The Hunter Story
A symbol of British country life
In 1856 Mr Henry Lee Norris, an American entrepreneur, landed on Scottish soil in search of a home for his boot making company. Having acquired a block of buildings in Edinburgh, known as the Castle Silk Mills, the North British Rubber Company (which much later became known as Hunter Boot Ltd) was registered as a limited liability company in September 1856. In the beginning there were only four people working for the company, by 1875 the team had grown to 600 members of staff.

Production of wellington boots were dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I when the company was asked by the War Office to construct a sturdy boot suitable for the conditions in flooded trenches. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to cope with the Army's demands. The fashionable boot was now a functional necessity.

For WWII they were once again called upon to supply vast quantities of wellingtons and thigh boots. 80% of production was for war materials - from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks.
After WWII boot making had to move to a larger factory in Heathhall Dumfries, where the company has been based since, to deal with the rise in demand.

Hunter's most famous welly, the original Green wellington, was made over 50 years ago in the winter of 1955. It was the first orthopedic boot that we made and was launched alongside the Royal Hunter - another boot that remains in Hunter's range today.

In 1977, having continued to supply wellies to the Royal Households, Hunter was awarded a Royal Warrant from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. This was shortly followed, in 1986, by a Royal Warrant from HM The Queen. Providing great recognition for their work in keeping some very important feet dry!

Hunter enjoyed a record season in summer 2007 but, despite this, remained faced with major financial challenges regarding production. High manufacturing and fuel costs that contributed to the company's move into administration in 2006 remained prominent and, like many UK manufacturing businesses, Hunter was forced to consider whether it was commercially viable to keep making boots in the UK. The company also had to negotiate a volatile relationship with its landlord and an expensive and inefficient 96-year-old factory. Eventually, alternative supply sources were sought and developed in Europe and the Far East and plans were made to exit the Dumfries plant and relocate the company HQ to Edinburgh. This move was finally made in September 2008.

Today, Hunter remains the preferred welly brand for those who like to work hard and play hard - there's a great range of boots to suit welly wearers all over the world - from the Royal Family to festival-goers, working farmers and landed gentry alike.

Where are wellies from?
The Welly made it's first appearance in 1817. At this time men's fashion was going through significant changes as gentlemen swapped their knee breeches in favour of trousers. This, however, led to a problem finding comfortable footwear. The previously popular Hessian boot, worn with breeches was styled with a curvy turned-down top and heavy metallic braid - totally unsuitable for wearing under trousers.

To this end, Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington instructed his shoemaker, Hoby of St. James Street London, to modify this 18th century boot. They designed a new boot in soft calfskin leather, removed the trim and made the cut closer around the leg. It was hard wearing for battle, yet comfortable for wearing in the evening. The Iron Duke didn't know what he'd started - the boot was dubbed the ‘wellington' and the name has stuck ever since.
Wellington boots quickly caught on with patriotic British gentlemen eager to emulate their war hero. Considered fashionable and foppish in the best circles, they remained the main fashion for men through the 1840's. In the 1850's they were more commonly made in the calf high version and in the 1860's they were both superseded by the ankle boot, except for when riding.

So far these boots were made of leather, however in America, where there was more experimentation in shoemaking, producers were beginning to manufacture with rubber. One such entrepreneur, Mr. Henry Lee Norris, moved to Scotland in search of a suitable site to produce rubber footwear - here sees the beginning of Hunter's story.

Production of the Wellington boot was dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I due to the demand for a sturdy boot suitable for the conditions in flooded trenches. Making the wellington boot a functional necessity.
Again the Wellington boot played an important contribution during World War II. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, although trench warfare was not a feature of the war, the wellington still played an important role. Those forces assigned the task of clearing Holland of the enemy had to work in terrible flooded conditions.
By the end of the war the wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wear in wet weather. The boot had developed to become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. Also, with the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work.

Wellington boots are waterproof and are most often made from rubber or a synthetic equivalent. They are usually worn when walking on very wet or muddy ground, or to protect the wearer from industrial chemicals and they are traditionally knee-height.

In Britain, there is a light-hearted sport, known as 'wellie wanging', which involves the throwing of Wellington boots as far as possible. Welly wang with Hunter this summer!

Wellington boots, though invented in Britain, are very popular all over the world. In cold climates they were especially useful in springtime, when melting snows leave wet and muddy ground for a couple of months. Children can often be seen wearing them to school and office staff wear them to work to save their shoes.

Green wellies are popular in Britain, while black wellies remain the favourite in Scandinavia and the USA. Wellies specifically made for cold weather, lined with warm insulating material, are especially popular in Nothern Europe.

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