Brits have been left baffled to learn about what the small metal hatches that can be found outside of homes and buildings across the UK are used for, as they have a specific purpose11:17, 21 May 2026One of the most enticing thing about the UK that still fascinates many tourists is our long history, which can still be experienced to this day in the way of visiting older buildings and houses. While most parts of the country have gone through renovations and modernisations throughout the years, there are still clear evidence of our history almost anywhere we look, as long as you know what you're looking for.‌Some people might even have historic artefacts located right by their front door without even noticing. One person has now taken to Reddit to ask about one detail that some houses and buildings in the UK has that many might not realise what they were used for.‌Taking to Reddit's 'DoesAnyoneKnow' forum, one user went on to share a photo of a red metal hatch that was located by the front door of a home, that had sparked confusion.‌"Does anyone know what were these used for?" they wondered in the post, sharing a photo of the item they were talking about. They described it as a 'small hatch seen on the outside of houses in the UK'.While people went on to share several theories of what the hatch might be used for, such as being a tiny door for elves and fairies, or even for mice, some were quick to share the answer.‌"Boot scraper," one person simply explained, while someone else said: "Cleaning mud/dirt off your boots. You’ll find them outside many older houses in the UK."To this, another went on to further explain: "Correct. But no good on footwear with multiple gaps. It worked better on flat leather soles shoes where the surface could be scraped clean. Now we have the strange ritual of visitors divesting themselves of their cleated footwear on entering one's house and padding around in odd socks."Someone else added: "For when horses where the normal mode of travel. Horse s**t caked the streets."‌"I love that it's so over-engineered," another user said.A Victorian iron door scraper, also known as a boot scraper, is a cast-iron device placed at entryways to clean mud and dirt from shoes. The scrapers appeared at the end of the 18th century, at the same time as the sidewalks and abounded in the 19th century big cities, in the times of horse-drawn carriages and dirt roads.[They feature a vertical metal blade for scraping soles and a flat mounting plate that is either screwed directly into the door frame, set in masonry, or pushed into the ground.Article continues belowAt the time they were created, the simplest shoe scrapers could be a rectangular sheet of metal, a horizontal bar, or thick steel wire, but many had more complex shapes made of cast iron or wrought iron with horizontal centre piece to scrape off the sole, vertical scraping surfaces to clean the sides of the boot, and other shapes to access concave area by the heel.One of the most common boot scrapers still around are located at 10 Downing Street in London, where two ornate cast-iron Victorian shoe scrapers symmetrically are still located on each side of the famous black front door.Through the 20th century, the scrapers of European cities fell into disuse and many were removed during roadworks, or salvaged for ferrous metals, but some are still around to this day, with many people not knowing what they're used for.