Short story of a British shoemaker in modern time who assists a ragged man by repairing his sandal

Question

The short story was in a 1960s anthology book. A ragged man appears at a shoemaker's business in England. His sandal is damaged. The shoemaker isn't sure if the man is a weaver type, which makes me think the story takes place in the early 1900s thru 20s. They discuss how only children wear sandals now and discuss battles with the shoemaker talking about the recent past and the man eons ago. The shoemaker cleans the man's bloody foot and the ragged man blesses him which makes the man feel odd.The man gives him a very old gold coin. The shoemaker's son comes home from school and recites from Henry V about St Crispin and how today is St Crispins Day

Answer 1

This sounds very much like Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe (the same title as a traditional nursery rhyme), a short story by Jan Struther first published in 1943.

The story begins:

There are a great many strange characters wandering about the streets of that strange little town they call Chelsea...

An old man wanders the streets there, going from one cobbler's shop to another, trying to find someone to mend his old sandals. They all refuse, as they only sell modern shoes, and have no interest in doing repairs. Eventually a young girl tells him:

"Look here," she panted, "my uncle's a cobbler in Emily Street. You try him."

The old man limped along to Emily street, which is a little alley leading off the King's Road. And there; sure enough, was a real old-fashioned cobbler's shop, with a battered wooden counter that was also a work-bench and bundles of bootlaces hanging like seaweed on the walls, and little irregular three-cornered scraps of hide littering the floor, and a glorious all-pervading smell of leather. And there at the bench, bent double over his work under a flaming, fan-shaped gas-jet, was Mr. Mullins, the cobbler. He looked up with a cheerful grin as the old man entered. He liked queer-looking customers.

Mullins and the man have a chat. The man reveals he has been wandering for 1600 years, which Mullins takes as a sign that the fellow was cracked". After mending the sandal:

He knelt down among the scraps of leather and fastened the sandal on to the bare and travel-stained foot. And then the extraordinary old man laid his wrinkled hand on Mullins' head and began to bless him.

and gives him a very worn old gold coin in payment.

After he man leaves, Mullins' son, Tommy, returns from school, and tells him about the St Crispin's Day speech from Henry V. The story ends with Mullins asking his son, "Who was St Crispin, anyway?"

''He was a shoemaker - just like you are," cried Tommy triumphantly. ''An' teacher said he was the pattern-patt-patron saint of shoemakers-so there!'' "Was he now?" said Mullins slowly, scratching his head. Then, after a long pause-"Oh, he was, was he?" said Mullins thoughtfully, fingering the gold coin in his pocket.