Child's adjustable metal leg iron, incorporating a shoe and supportive leather strapping, from the Lord Mayor Treloar Orthopaedic Hospital, Alton, Hampshire, England, 1940-1960

Polio and rickets are two conditions that can cause the leg bones of children to become deformed. Fixed to the child’s leg using the leather straps, the leg iron incorporates a shoe.

Used at the Lord Mayor Treloar Orthopaedic Hospital in Alton, Hampshire, England, the leg iron is designed to encourage the bones to grow correctly. The hospital was set up in 1908 to treat children with a range of orthopaedic conditions and physical disabilities. The hospital combined treatment with education and schooling.