Horace Batten Bootmakers in Northamptonshire is currently seeking a trainee boot tree maker to help secure the future of its business, whilst at the same time safeguarding an endangered craft skill.
The making of lasts and trees (wooden formers around which shoes and boots are made and stored) has been listed as endangered on the Heritage Crafts Association’s groundbreaking HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts, the second edition of which was published last year. The Red List is the first research of its kind to rank the UK’s traditional crafts by the likelihood that they will survive into the next generation.
Horace Batten Bootmakers has been making traditional riding and fashion boots since 1804. Its skilled workforce operates from a workshop in rural Northamptonshire, the home of quality boot and shoe making for centuries. This traineeship will provide a rare and unique opportunity for the successful candidate to learn from an expert in the field of wooden tree making, eventually taking on a bulk of this work for the company.
Applications are invited from people who aspire to a high level of skill in woodworking. Experience in last or model making and an understanding of shoe and boot making are also desirable. The trainee is required for an immediate start for three days per week, with a view to it becoming a full time position and lifelong career following successful training.
For more information about the traineeship, email HCA Endangered Crafts Officer Mary Lewis at mary@heritagecrafts.org.uk.
