Northampton

Northampton built its wealth on what people stand in: shoes. For nearly 900 years, shoemakers have worked here—the first recorded, Peter the Cordwainer, appears in 13th-century records. By 1401, a Guild of Shoemakers had been established. The industry grew because Northamptonshire had what shoemaking needed: oak bark for tanning, water for processing, leather from local cattle markets, and a central location for distribution.

A strike in 1812 encouraged London shoemakers to relocate here. Canal connections by 1815 made transport practical; machinery arrived by the 1840s. By 1841, the town had 1,821 shoemakers; mechanization would multiply that. During World War I, Northamptonshire produced nearly 50 million pairs of military footwear; similar numbers followed in World War II.

The postwar decades brought decline elsewhere but not extinction. Charles Clore bought out factories in the 1950s and moved contracts abroad, but the high-end manufacturers survived by focusing on quality. Today Church's, Crockett & Jones, Tricker's, Edward Green, and others still manufacture in and around Northampton. Dr. Martens produces in nearby Wollaston; Grenson in Rushden; Loake in Kettering.

Northampton remains the global center of premium shoemaking—a claim earned by survival rather than scale. The factories that remain sell to luxury markets worldwide.

By 2026, Northampton offers proof that an industry can contract to its quality core and survive globalization.