SHOEMAKING IN ENGLAND
ON THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH CORDWAINING, NORTHAMPTON'S ENDURING LEGACY, AND WHY MADE IN ENGLAND STILL MEANS SOMETHING SPECIFIC
ENGLAND'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SHOEMAKING IS ONE OF THE LONGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT IN THE WORLD.
IT DID NOT BEGIN IN NORTHAMPTON, THOUGH NORTHAMPTON IS WHERE IT FOUND ITS CENTRE. IT BEGAN IN MEDIEVAL LONDON, WHERE THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF CORDWAINERS, FOUNDED IN 1272, ONE OF THE OLDEST LIVERY COMPANIES IN THE CITY, ESTABLISHED THE STANDARDS, THE TRAINING, AND THE PROFESSIONAL STRUCTURES THAT WOULD DEFINE ENGLISH SHOEMAKING FOR CENTURIES. THE WORD CORDWAINER ITSELF, FROM THE OLD FRENCH FOR A WORKER IN CORDOVAN LEATHER, TELLS YOU SOMETHING ABOUT HOW SERIOUSLY ENGLAND TOOK THE CRAFT. IT HAD A NAME. IT HAD A GUILD. IT HAD RULES.
HOW NORTHAMPTON BECAME THE CENTRE
BY THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HAD BEGUN ITS ASCENT TO DOMINANCE.
THE CONDITIONS WERE RIGHT. ACCESS TO HIDES FROM THE LOCAL CATTLE TRADE. OAK BARK FOR VEGETABLE TANNING AVAILABLE FROM THE SURROUNDING FORESTS. ESTABLISHED RIVER ROUTES FOR DISTRIBUTION. AND CRUCIALLY, AN ACCUMULATION OF KNOWLEDGE, THE SPECIFIC, TRANSFERABLE EXPERTISE OF SHOEMAKERS TRAINING APPRENTICES WHO TRAINED MORE APPRENTICES, ACROSS GENERATIONS, IN A SINGLE CONCENTRATED GEOGRAPHY.
DURING THE CIVIL WAR, NORTHAMPTON SUPPLIED SHOES TO CROMWELL'S NEW MODEL ARMY. THOUSANDS OF PAIRS. THE TOWN'S CAPACITY TO PRODUCE AT VOLUME WITHOUT SACRIFICING QUALITY ESTABLISHED A REPUTATION THAT WOULD LAST FOR CENTURIES. BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, NORTHAMPTON WAS THE GLOBAL CENTRE OF SHOE MANUFACTURING. CHURCH'S. CROCKETT AND JONES. TRICKER'S. EDWARD GREEN. EACH A PRODUCT OF THE TOWN'S ACCUMULATED EXPERTISE, EACH A BENCHMARK THAT MAKERS EVERYWHERE MEASURE THEMSELVES AGAINST.
WHAT SURVIVED INDUSTRIALISATION
THE INDUSTRIAL PERIOD CHANGED HOW SHOES WERE MADE BUT DID NOT CHANGE WHAT MADE ENGLISH SHOES WORTH MAKING.
THE INTRODUCTION OF MACHINERY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THE BLAKE STITCHING MACHINE AND THE LASTING MACHINE AMONG THEM, INCREASED VOLUME WITHOUT ELIMINATING CRAFT. THE SKILLED CORDWAINER'S ROLE SHIFTED. THE JUDGEMENT REQUIRED TO SELECT LEATHER, TO LAST A SHOE CORRECTLY, TO FINISH TO THE REQUIRED STANDARD, REMAINED HUMAN WORK. THE MACHINES HANDLED REPETITION. THE HANDS HANDLED EVERYTHING ELSE.
WHAT SURVIVED WAS A STANDARD. A SPECIFIC EXPECTATION OF WHAT A PROPERLY MADE ENGLISH SHOE SHOULD BE. HOW IT SHOULD FIT. HOW IT SHOULD WEAR. HOW LONG IT SHOULD LAST. THIS STANDARD PERSISTS IN THE WORKSHOPS THAT REMAIN ACTIVE TODAY. IT IS NOT MAINTAINED BY NOSTALGIA. IT IS MAINTAINED BY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THE ALTERNATIVE IS LOWER QUALITY, AND WHO FIND THAT UNACCEPTABLE.
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
MADE IN ENGLAND IS NOT A HERITAGE CLAIM. IT IS A DESCRIPTION OF WHERE AND HOW SOMETHING IS MADE.
THE METHODS USED TO MAKE 1812 SNEAKERS, HAND LASTING, SPRINGLINE LASTS BUILT TO SATRA SPECIFICATIONS, FULL GRAIN LEATHER SELECTED FOR QUALITY RATHER THAN PRICE, ARE ENGLISH METHODS. DEVELOPED AND REFINED OVER GENERATIONS. NOT REFERENCED FOR CREDIBILITY. EMPLOYED BECAUSE THEY PRODUCE BETTER SNEAKERS.
THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SHOEMAKING IS THE HISTORY OF ACCUMULATED JUDGMENT ABOUT HOW A SHOE SHOULD BE BUILT. AT 1812, THAT JUDGMENT IS STILL THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING.
