Building record 1160/48/1 - Barratt Shoe Factory, (Footshape Bootworks)

Shoe and boot factory. Front range facing Kingsthorpe Road dated 1913. Macvicar Anderson for Barratts Shoes in an exuberantly Neo-Baroque style. Stone, brick, terracotta details; steel frame.

{1} Shoe and boot factory. Front range facing Kingsthorpe Road dated 1913. Macvicar Anderson for Barratts Shoes in an exuberantly Neo-Baroque style. Stone, brick, terracotta details; steel frame. 3 storeys. Symmetrical front of 9 bays defined by full height pilaster buttresses. Stone plinth. Central doorway framed by a projecting porch with broken segmental pediment supported on Roman Ionic columns and deep entablatures with carved frieze blocks. Large arched openings in stone to either side with metal framed 3-light mullion and transom windows except for end bay to left which has cart entry under similar arch with fanlight grille of radiating metal bars. Stone spandrels above arches divided by raised key blocks. First and second floors bays are each subdivided by an intermediate pier. Pilaster butresses and piers have alternating bands of brick and stone. Metal frame casement windows with transoms on first floor and stone spandrels above, with carved aprons. Lower windows on second floor except for the bay to either side of central bay. These have tall windows crowned by stone segmental pedimented features with boldly moulded wreaths enclosing inscriptions: "Estd/1903" on left, "Built/1913" on right. A similar pedimented feature over each end bay enclosing a circular window in wreathed frame with side drops. Between pedimented features to left and right, a dentil eaves cornice crowned by balustrades of open stone letters: "FOOTSHAPE" to left and "BOOT WORKS" to right. A circular clock set in a segmental headed frame over the central bay. Stone and brick gate piers, brick stone capped plinth for former boundary railing. The large factory extension to the rear of the front block is not of special interest.

{3} The factory proudly displays the words "FOOTSHAPE" and "BOOTWORKS" in Gibbs and Canning's tawny terracotta as larger than life parapet lettering.

{5} A 'magnificent edifice with buff terracotta ornamentation', built in 1913. Built in 1913 for Barratt's as a centre for their mail-order made-to-measure footwear system.

{8} Handpainted sign on side of building reading "Barratts Walk Round Factory Shoe Shop" has been painted over - articles describing local reaction.

{13} Undated photo, probably 1990s;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 14/216 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> 1976, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), H14 addendum (checked) (Catalogue). SNN1000.

<3> Pearson L., 2003, Gazeteer of British Tile and Architectural Ceramic Sites: County Draft, Northamptonshire, p.3 (unchecked) (Gazetteer). SNN103233.

<4> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<5> Palmer M; Neaverson P., 1992, Industrial Landscapes of the East Midlands, p.194-95 (checked) (Book). SNN3691.

<6> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Northampton Site 157 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<7> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2010, Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group Newsletter (Vol.115), p.19 (unchecked) (Newsletter). SNN44153.

<8> 2010, Articles regarding painting of sign at Barratts Shoe Factory, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN107642.

<9> Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society, 2011, TACS (Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society) Location Database (Gazetteer). SNN107648.

<10> Morrison K.A.; Bond A., 2004, Built To Last? The Buildings of The Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry (Book). SNN104903.

<11> Historic England, Undated, Northampton Boot and Shoe Industry Project, EHC01/044 (Archive). SNN113277.

<12> Undated, Barratt Shoe Factory (Footshape Works), Kingsthorpe Road, Northampton, BF088118 (Archive). SNN113578.

<13> Photographs of buildings in Northampton (Photographs). SNN114989.

<14> Perkins, P, Whittaker, R and Denton, A, 2022, A Guide to the Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire, p. 63/ Site 275 (Book). SNN113793.

Record last edited

Jan 23 2025 12:42PM