Monument record 1966/31/1 - Latimer Buildings, Finedon Street

The Latimer Works was a large boot and shoe factory on the south side of Finedon Street. The factory is composed mostly of north-lit sheds, was built in 1896 for the shoe making firm of Whitney and Westley. It was extended to the east between 1900 and 1914. It now appears to have been demolished.

{1} Whitney and Westley Shoe Manufacturers, Finedon Street. Harry Whitney and Joseph Westley began a shoe manufacturing business in Finedon Street in 1896. A three storey factory was erected in 1896, which was expanded in 1899, 1904 and in the 1930's, however the frontage was replaced in 1969 after a fire at the factory. The factory is still in existence and is occupied by Abbey Vogue Footware and Mayfayre Products. The core of the structure consists of a number of rectangular buildings with sky lights. Although many of these buildings may date from the 19th and early 20th century the building has lost much of its integrity due to the loss of the frontage.

{2} Built in 1897-8 for the firm of Henry Whitney & Joseph Westley; a re-set datesone, reading ‘EST W & W 11896’, probably dates the commencement of business. The earliest part of the factory was rebuilt in the 1960s or 1970s. It was of three storeys and probably of eleven windows per floor (the majority of them probably paired), with the three westernmost window bays marked out by taller second-floor windows and a small central gable. An entrance at the east end of the front elevation appears to have been retained in the rebuilding. A first-floor loading doorway was located near the centre of the elevation. To the rear there were probably single-storey north-lit sheds from the outset.
Extensions are noted in 1902 and 1910. The first probably included the three-storey range shown adjoining the original factory to the west on the bird’s-eye view, together with further north-lit sheds to the rear, some of which survive. The three-storey block (also rebuilt in the 1960s or 1970s) consists of three wide bays, and differs from the original in the form and height of its windows, notably on the first floor, where three large oriels probably denote extensive office accommodation, served by a new entrance in the central bay. The west gable was canted, as remains the case in the rebuilt range. At the western end of the street front a large and a small doorway appear to have been retained from the earlier work.
The 1910 extension may have been on the east side of the original factory, where a series of houses were demolished to make way for a surviving six-bay, single-storeyed north-lit range. This is severely plain, the north front enlivened only by sunk panels to the brickwork of the western four bays, a keystone to the adjoining employees’ entrance, sparing use of blue brick and a stepped brick eaves. The easternmost bay was occupied by a large works entrance (now blocked), with blue brick quoins, stone anchor blocks and scrolled brackets to the lintel. A blind area west of the employees’ entrance corresponds to a break in the north-lit roof and appears to indicate the position of wash-rooms. Also present by 1916, on the western side of the factory, was a long range of one and two storeys, which extended southwards to the rear of the original plot. Of less certain date, but built by 1924, is a further range extending as far as the as yet unbuilt Whitney Road (possibly a company development). This survives, and appears to incorporate an engine and boiler house midway along its length, serving the large expanse of north-lit sheds. The Whitney Street gable has a number of additions and modifications including a latrine block added on the east side and an inserted doorway with a cement-rendered surround perhaps of the 1930s.
The original three-storey range of 1897-8, together with its westwards extension, probably of 1902, were lowered to two storeys in the 1960s or 1970s, retaining a number of fragments on the street front, as detailed above. The work appears to represent a refronting on the same footprint (retaining the canted western gable) rather than a comprehensive rebuilding. The new front has yellow brick to the ground floor and brown to the first. The datestone described above is re-set on the first floor. The roof appears to be flat.

History:
1884 Not depicted (OS 1st ed.)
1896 Not listed;
1897-8 Factory built
1899 Small factory & cruciform outbuilding depicted (OS 2nd ed.)
1902 Factory extended
1906 Whitney & Westley, boot mfrs
1910 Factory ‘doubled’
1916 Bird’s-eye view of factory published; 48,000 sq. ft
1924 ‘Latimer Works (Boot & Shoe)’; much extended since 1899, including long range & associated yard to south (OS 3rd ed.)
1937 Whitney & Westley Ltd
1966 Whitney & Westley Co. boot factory
1970 ‘Boot & Shoe Factory’; additions to east of yard; Whitney Rd developed (OS map)
1999 Mayfare Footwear Ltd

<1> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Industrial Period, (checked) (Digital archive). SNN4.

<2> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Burton Latimer site 2 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<3> Historic England, Undated, Former Latimer Works, Finedon Street, Burton Latimer, BF103781 (Archive). SNN113197.

<4> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, EHC01/044 (Archive). SNN113193.

Record last edited

Aug 17 2022 11:54AM