British Shoes - The Best In The World
British shoemakers have for nearly 200 years produced the worlds highest quality bespoke and handmade shoes, today they also have the finest handcrafted off the shelf models.
Since 1900 John Lobb had held the position of the worlds finest bespoke shoemaker, today arguably, George Cleverly has that accolade.
A pair of John Lobb Ltd bespoke Leather shoes will cost around £5,200
John Lobb Ltd Full Brogue Oxfords
Not all top quality British shoes are so exclusively expensive.
Loake have an excellent handmade 'off the shelf' collection starting at £125.
Loake Tarantula Brouge
We have a thriving shoe industry in the UK, alongside our world-renowned traditional English shoemakers, we have a range of manufacturers producing top quality everyday shoes, sneakers, slippers, boots, riding boots and women's high fashion.
Our recommended supplier Robinsons, as well as being a fine shoemaker also stock shoes from Britains leading shoemakers and have a comprehensive worldwide mail order service
Why the Worlds best shoes are made in England.
A quick history of why we got so good at making shoes or skip to a list of British shoemakers
The English county of Northamptonshire became the traditional centre of British shoe making.
It had cattle markets to provide leather and a plentiful supply of oak bark and water needed for tanning leather.
Northampton is 80 miles north of London, in the centre of England, straddling the main cross-country trade routes allowed its shoes to be distributed nationwide.
In Medieval England, every village had a shoe maker/repairer called a cordwainer, attracted by the facilities of Northamptonshire many moved there and set up business.
Typically most processes were done by outworkers, each completing a different process then brought into the 'owners' workshop to be finished.
Outworker shoemakers in Bangladesh still work in the same way English Shoemakers did in the 17th Century
By the outbreak of the English civil war in 1641 Northampton had developed a reputation as the home of English shoemaking.
War meant business and Oliver Cromwell, sending troops to quell the Irish rebellion in 1642 placed a contract for 4000 pairs of shoes and 600 boots which the shoemakers filled, demonstrating they had the ability to mass produce shoes.
Cromwell at the Battle of Dunbar 1650
Impressed, Cromwell ordered more footwear for his army in 1648 and the British army continued to have the Northampton shoemakers shoe their troops for various campaigns.
By 1841 there were 1,821 shoemakers living in Northampton
With the industrial revolution and the introduction of machinery, such as rolling machines for compressing leather soles and sewing machines.
The outworker processes were brought 'in-house' and shoe making companies built factories and became established large businesses, many are still making shoes in those original factories.
A 'modern' Shoe Factory in 1887
British Shoes - A list of shoemakers
This is an introduction, not a complete list of British shoemakers.
As well as traditional shoemakers selling high quality ready to wear shoes, across the UK there many high-quality craftspeople producing small numbers of the finest quality bespoke shoes.
Traditional shoemakers:
John Lobb and John Lobb Ltd.
(Est 1849). Shoes for men and women. Original bootmakers to King Edward VII and the favourite of the worlds elite.
John Lobb itself ceased to be a British company when it was purchased by the Hermes group in 1976.
The original John Lobb London bespoke workshop (described by Esquire magazine as the most beautiful shop in the world), trades as John Lobb Ltd.
It still remains in the hands of the family and operates independently of John Lobb from its premises at Number 9 St James's Street.
John Lobb Ltd Bespoke website.
The John Lobb Paris bespoke atelier, the 'By Request service' and ready-to-wear collection, as well as all the other John Lobb boutiques, are all part of the Hermès-owned company.
John Lobb:
Purchased by the Hermes group in 1976, they established a workshop in Northampton in 1994 to hand make the John Lobb ready to wear collection.
A pair of men's brogues will cost about £1000.
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Trickers:
(Est 1829). Shoes for men and women. Still making shoes in Northampton in the factory they built in 1904. Trickers were the original go to shoemaker for country boots and shoes for the landed gentry, they still produce outstanding boots & shoes.
Expect to pay around £375 a pair.
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Grenson:
(Est 1866). Shoes for men and women. Always innovative coupled with high quality.
Grenson introduced moccasin style shoes to the British market, triple welted shoes and contemporary styling.
Expect to pay around £200+ a pair.
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Crockett & Jones:
(Est 1879). Shoes for men and women. Still owned and managed by the founding family and making shoes in the family factory bought in 1891.
By 1911 they were one of Britain top shoemakers and today are sought after around the world.
Expect to pay £350 to £400 for ladies and up to £600 for a top range men's pair.
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Church's:
(Est 1873). Shoes for men and women. With a shoemaking history going back to 1625 they were the first to make shoes for left & right feet and Introduced half sizes and different widths.
Now owned by Prada but shoes are still handmade in their Northampton factory.
Expect to pay about £500 a pair.
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Loake:
(Est 1880). Shoes for men and women. Produce handmade shoes in a variety of widths and last shapes using over 200 operations producing high quality hand made shoes. Available 'off the shelf' at a reasonable price that rivals some much poorer quality mass production shoes.
Expect to pay around £150 - £300+ a pair. They do seasonal discounts with end of range styles at around £100 a pair.
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Barker:
(Est 1880). Shoes for men and women. Today Barker is owned by an international group who are committed towards maintaining the brand integrity.
Barker traditions continue in an impressive modern factory, purpose-built in 1986 located in Earls Barton Nothamptonshire.
Expect to pay around £200 - £300 a pair.
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Cheany:
(Est 1886). Shoes for men and women. Shoes are still made on the original site.
Chenay was owned by Church's (Prada) but has since been bought out by the Church family who continue with the fine traditions of handmade shoe production established in 1886.
Expect to pay around £300 a pair.
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Edward Green:
(Est 1888). Shoes for men only. Produce highly sought after top range Gentlemens shoes & boots, they make around 350 pairs a week and this has to serve outlets across the world.
Expect to pay £850 for a pair of brogues.
Edward Green:
(Est 1888). Shoes for men only. Produce highly sought after top range Gentlemens shoes & boots, they make around 350 pairs a week and this has to serve outlets across the world.
Expect to pay £850 for a pair of brogues.
Modern British Shoemakers
Not all British shoe makers have been in business for over a century, two of our recently established ones. George Cleverly & Jeffery West are regularly listed among the top 10 shoe makers in the world.
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George Cleverley:
(Est 1958). Shoes for men only. Now established as a leading bespoke shoemaker and much loved by many celebrates, including Keith Richards and Sylvester Stallone.
Cleverley are the Makers of the legendary Kingsman Oxford. Expect to pay about £500+ for a 'ready made' pair and upwards of £2000 for a bespoke pair.
Jeffery West:
(Est 1987). Shoes for men and women. Innovative and stylish shoes for those looking for a high grade shoe that says something a little different.
There is also a shoe engraving service which lets you personalize your shoes.
Expect to pay £200 - £400 a pair.
Gaziano & Girling:
Founded in 2006 by Tony Gaziano & Dean Girling and already considred to be one of the most innovative and versatile shoemakers in the world.
Their new factory was the first to be set up in Kettering for over 100 years they do a Benchmade stock range, made to order, and bespoke shoes.
Shoes from their stock online range cost £800+ For made to order, bespoke and women's shoe prices please contact them at sales@gazianogirling.com or enquiries@gazianogirling.com or call +44 (0) 207 439 8717
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Yull:
(Est 2011). Shoes for men and women. The only independent company manufacturing ladies high heels in Britain
Yull have a fantastic range of 'to die for' handmade woman's shoes. A pair of 4 inch high heels costs around £175 - £225, other shoes range from £50 to £150+.
Mens shoes (all Goodyear welted and handmade in Northampton) cost just under £200.
Hotter shoes:
(Est 1959) Shoes for men and women. The UK's largest homegrown shoe manufacturer.
This family firm produces over 1.5 million pairs of high-quality shoes per year in their Lancashire factory, which is now one of the worlds most advanced shoe factories.
Hotter Shoes are famous for their trademark concept comfort shoes: Made from breathable leather uppers with the soles filled with millions of tiny air bubbles giving a light easy wearable shoe which is extremely comfortable.
You can view and purchase some of the range of Hotter Shoes here.
Hotter shoes:
(Est 1959) Shoes for men and women. The UK's largest homegrown shoe manufacturer.
This family firm produces over 1.5 million pairs of high-quality shoes per year in their Lancashire factory, which is now one of the worlds most advanced shoe factories.
Hotter Shoes are famous for their trademark concept comfort shoes: Made from breathable leather uppers with the soles filled with millions of tiny air bubbles giving a light easy wearable shoe which is extremely comfortable.
Niche Market Shoes
Shoemakers who dedicate themselves to producing the very best of one type of footwear.
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Buchanan Bespoke:
(Est 1925). A Scottish Shoemaker producing bespoke Brogues and Ghillie Brogues (those worn with a kilt) from a mix of Tartan or Tweed and leather.
A pair will take about 4 weeks to make. They also make bespoke shoes for people with medical conditions.
Expect to pay around £250 for a pair of standard brogues, £300+ for a pair of tartan Brogues and around £1000 for a bespoke pair.
Celtic & Co:
(Est 1973). Shoes for men, women, children & babies. Based in Cornwall they specialize in sheepskin boots and slippers and are the makers of the original Ugg boots.
Celtic & Co also produce other handsewn sheepskin products.
A pair of boots costs around £160 a pair of slippers around £60, baby shoes around £18.
Boots
Britain produces iconic boots which are loved around the world.
Solovair (Dr. Martens):
(Est 1959). Shoes for men and women. From a shoemaking collective of bootmakers, they started manufacturing patented air-cushion soled footwear 'air wair' under the Dr.Martins by Solovair brand name until 1995 when they re-branded them Solovair. Still called Dr Martins around the world the boots are much loved and have a worldwide cult following.
Solovair also make a large range of fashion and work shoes featuring their patented 'air wair 'sole. Expect to pay about £130 for a pair of shoes and up to £180 for a pair of 20 eyelet derby boots.
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White & Co:
(Est 1890). Makers of the legendary Gripfast boot.
If you're looking for a top quality durable everyday combat style boot, work-boots or work-shoes then take a look White & Co's other gripfast boots and Treadair work shoes.
All Gripfast products are hand made in Northamptonshire as they have been for over 100 years.
They also still make top quality Goodyear welted gentlemen's shoes on a par with our other leading British shoemakers.
A 14 eyelet 'skinhead type' boot will cost around £230
Riding Boots
There are several manufacturers of good quality hand-made sock riding boots, but if you want a pair made to measure then the choice is between these two.
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Horace Batten:
(Since the 1700s) Made to measure and Bespoke Riding boots. The same family have been making boots for 7 generations that's about 200 years!
As well as making boots for the Household Calvary and well known British show jumpers such as Nick Skelton and Ted Edgar, Horace Batten also made the boots for Dave Prowse's Darth Vadar character in star wars.
Expect to pay around £1000 for a field boot and £500 for a Jodphur boot
Davies:
(Est 1977) This Welsh based family business is new compared to Batten, but in the 40 years they have been in business Davies have established themselves as bespoke bookmakers of supreme quality.
Expect to pay a little under £1000 for a plain fronted pair.
Sports shoes & Sneakers
Walsh:
(Est 1961). Shoes for men and women. Founded by Norman Walsh who made Rodger Bannister's shoes for the first sub-4-minute mile and invented the mountain running shoe.
The only fully owned British owned sports footwear brand manufactured in the UK.
Worn by many of Britain's top athletes and sportspeople.
Prices vary depending on the type of shoe or sports boot, expect to pay around £100+ for a fell running or a training shoe (sneaker).
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New balance:
(Est 1982). Shoes for men and women. In 1906 William J. Riley, a British emigrant founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in Boston USA.
Today they have a manufacturing plant in the UK.
New Balance makes sneakers (training shoes or trainers as we Brits call them). Football boots, tennis shoes, cricket shoes & hiking/walking boots.
Prices vary, a mid-range pair of sneakers costs about £80.
Children's Shoes
Starchild:
(Est 1975). Founded by shoe designer Janet Middleton, the maker of Vivien Westwoods iconic rocking horse shoe.
Starchild make innovative handmade Leather shoes from newborns to children aged 10 years.
They have recently added adult 'indoor shoes' and slippers to their range. Shoes cost around £20.