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THE HOME OF FINE
ENGLISH SHOES
Northampton,
situated in the heart of England, is a town renowned for its shoe
industry – the history of which goes back hundreds of years.
Cordwainers (a
medieval term for shoemakers) were first attracted to the county of
Northamptonshire because of the area’s thriving tanning industry.
Every village and town within the county had its own cordwainers, the
number of whom would continue to grow throughout the middle ages.
By 1642, the
reputation of Northampton town had grown so much that 13 shoemakers
were commissioned to produce 600 pairs of boots and 4000 pairs of
shoes for England’s army going to Ireland. The order was fulfilled
and it was now known that the town possessed the ability to produce
footwear on a large scale.
The industry
continued to flourish, propelled by previous successes, arguably in
line with necessities of war. The town was called upon to produce
army boots for multiple wars from the English Civil War to the Boer
War centuries later. Demand for Northampton shoes became so strong
that by the year 1841 there were 1,821 shoe makers in the town.
Machinery would soon
follow enabling footwear to be produced on an industrial scale.
FIRST
GENERATION
Crockett & Jones
was established in 1879 by two brothers in law, James Crockett &
Charles Jones.
James was raised by
his grandfather Henry Marshall, who was a boot and shoe manufacturer
in Northampton. James left school at the age of 10 to work as an
errand boy before becoming an apprentice clicker. He would go on to
work as a shoe maker in Worcester, London and Birmingham.
Charles, meanwhile,
was from a long line (at least 3 generations) of respectable
shoemakers in Northamptonshire, and was himself a clicker by trade.
He married James’ younger sister, Annie Marshall – a shoe fitter,
in 1873.
Six years after this
marriage, James and Charles decided to go into business together but
they lacked the necessary funds to open a factory.
To overcome this,
they applied for, and were granted, a sum of £100 each from the
Thomas White Trust which was established to ‘encourage young men of
good character in the towns of Northampton and Coventry to set up
business on their own’.
The first Crockett &
Jones factory was a small building on Exeter Road, Northampton which
housed the initial 20 employees. Family was crucial from the start as
the firm employed two of Charles’ brothers, his sister and his
wife.
Leathers were cut at
the factory before being distributed to out-workers, who would take
the parts home, complete their process and then return all components
to the factory, where the shoes or boots could be completed.
Business flourished
and production needed to expand, so in the early 1880s Crockett &
Jones moved into premises on Carey Street allowing more and more work
to be done inside the factory.
Here they would
install the latest machinery invented by Charles Goodyear from the
USA for stitching the upper and insole to a welt. This made the
process much easier and faster whilst also providing a superior
construction. It would be known as Goodyear-welting.
SECOND
GENERATION
With the arrival of
the 1890s came the 2nd generation of family to join the business;
Harry Crockett, Fred Crockett and Frank Jones – sons of James and
Charles respectively.
James Crockett and
Charles Jones again recognised the need to find a larger factory for
continued expansion of the business. By 1891 they had relocated to a
new factory in Magee Street, where the company continues to produce
footwear to this day.
Growth continued and
although the majority of the shoes were sold in the home market, the
company was beginning to develop an important export market by
‘following the flag’ through the British Empire.
The continued
success meant the relatively new factory was soon reaching its
production capacity.
So, in 1910, a
5-storey factory expansion commenced that was the first steel
structured building in Northampton. It benefited from a huge
proportion of glass to give superb natural lighting for production –
an asset which is still integral for the workforce.
Crockett & Jones
now had an established reputation as one of the best shoe makers in
the country and in 1911 were awarded the Diploma of Honour at the
International Manufacturing Exhibition in Turin for their footwear
designs.
In the same year as
this success, James’ youngest son Clifden Crockett joined the
company, followed a year later by Percy Jones, Charles’ youngest
son.
The quality and
reputation of Crockett & Jones footwear at this time had become
so revered that the firm was asked to provide specially designed
boots for an Antarctic expedition. They proved so successful that C&J
was requested to produce boots a 2nd time for the Shackleton
Endurance Expedition in 1914.
When the First World
War broke out, both Clifden Crockett and Percy Jones were called upon
to serve their country, and, in a sense, so was Crockett & Jones.
The company manufactured boots for the army, with production
increasing so that over 600,000 pairs were being made in a year.
Sadly, Clifden was
killed in action in 1916 during the Battle of Pozieres Ridge aged
just 22. Percy however was lucky enough to return to Crockett &
Jones after the war, and would become a partner within 4 years.
1924 was a year of
great pride for all at the company. Crockett & Jones was honoured
with a visit from the future King George VI who paid great attention
to the shoe making process on a tour around the factory, led by
recently knighted Sir James Crockett.
THIRD
GENERATION
In 1927 Gilbert
Jones, son of Frank, joined Crockett & Jones. There were now 3
generations working together for the first time, truly cementing the
status of Crockett & Jones as a family company.
The period after the
First World War was one of consolidation for the UK as the home
market was beginning to change, increasingly influenced by fashion.
The demand for women’s shoes had grown over the years and was in
fact so strong that ladies’ footwear would soon account for more
than 60% of total production at Crockett & Jones.
As the company
continued to grow, a second wing was added to the factory in 1935 to
provide a new office block, showroom and in-stock department. The
original front door was moved from Magee Street to Perry Street where
it is still used as the main entrance today, retaining its impressive
1930s Art Deco design.
Soon, war would
again rear its ugly head, and Crockett & Jones would be called
upon once more to manufacture shoes and boots for the armed forces.
In fact, the company
made over 1 million pairs over the course of the war, and, as many of
the workforce left to fight, many retired men and married women
returned to work as part of the war effort.
After the war, in
1946, Clifton Crockett, grandson of Sir James, joined the company. He
would stay for 6 years before leaving in 1952, making him the last
member of the Crockett family to work at Crockett & Jones.
A year later, in
1947, Richard Jones, son of Percy and grandson of founder Charles,
joined the business after serving in the Royal Navy.
The post war era
once again led to some interesting changes in market tastes in the UK
with everchanging ‘fashions’. This, combined with the effects of
war on the supply of materials and ability to export, meant Crockett
& Jones had to reassess its position in the marketplace.
Throughout the 1950s
the bulk of production was sold in the home market, although the
overseas market had begun to expand again so that by 1962 around
18-19% of the total output was exported. By this time, production
focus had returned more to producing men’s shoes.
Beginning in the
70s, times proved to be much harder for the Northampton shoe industry
with increased competition from the global markets, predominantly in
the form of cheaper imports. There still remained more than 100 small
family firms making shoes in Northampton, a significant number but a
huge reduction nonetheless from the early 1900s.
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