Handsewn shoemaking or cordwaining as it is traditionally known, is deeply rooted in London’s history. “Cordwainer Ward” near Cheapside and St Paul’s Cathedral are powerful reminders of the generations of cordwainers who established London’s reputation for fine footwear.
In towns and villages across the British Isles shoemakers first worked from home, then in larger artisan workshops and then shoe making factories. Craftsmen shared knowledge and resources, whilst apprenticeships and journeymen enabled individuals from diverse backgrounds to learn a valuable trade and contribute to their
communities.
Over the centuries, from cottage industry to industrial prowess, distinct styles emerged in different parts of the country – from Irish brogues to Lancashire clogs – showing regional pride and technical variation.
From medieval times, shoemaking journeymen and apprentices travelled across the country (and overseas), from master to master, to learn their craft. From the 16 th century onward Dutch, Flemish and French refugees brought new skills, materials and techniques to London, establishing vibrant communities in Spitalfields, Soho, Fitzrovia, Southwark. By the 1830s London was the largest city in the world and home to thousands of shoemakers concentrated around Cheapside, St Paul’s, Hackney and St James. London shoemakers had gained an international reputation catering to the burgeoning middle and upper classes, making increasingly elaborate and stylish shoes and exporting shoes to the colonies and Europe. By 1841 more than 24,000 men and women were recorded in the shoemaking trade, underscoring the industry’s significance.
But it was a turning point. The demand for shoes and boots during the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars drove the development of methods of mass production beginning with Brunel’s sole riveting machine in 1810. The mechanisation of shoemaking accelerated from the 1850s onwards with the arrival of sewing machines and finally finishing machines by the 1890s. Large scale factories began to spring up in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Norfolk, attracting a work force of thousands including many shoemakers from London keen to escape
the smog and ‘sweats’.
From a hiatus at the turn of the century the number of handsewn shoemakers in London dwindled over the following decades to a few hundred in the 1900s and to less than 50 post WWII. In Northampton shoe manufacturing followed a similar trajectory declining from around 200 factories mid-century to around 20 today, impacted by outsourcing and globalised manufacturing.
Cordwainers College began as the Leather Trades School in Bethnal Green in 1887, and then Cordwainers Technical College in 1913. Renamed Cordwainers College in 1991 it merged with London College of Fashion in 2000. Handsewn shoemaking remained one of the part time specialist courses offered until 2006.
Alongside shoe and boot making there are other closely related crafts that are either a vital part of handsewn shoe making or that overlap in areas of skill, materials and knowledge:
This craft uses products derived from animals – please read our ethical sourcing statement.
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