Building record 1160/448/1 - 54 Dunster Street

R.G. Engineering (Formerly Facer & White, George Wearing & Co. & M. Moss & Sons). Probably constructed for Facer & White, boot and shoe manufacturers. A three-storey boot factory built on the south side of Dunster Street. This small, rectangular-plan factory is built of brick with the pitched roof covered in slate. Ordnance Survey and other mapping, suggest that it was built c.1890.

{1} 1890s three-storey, four-bay boot and shoe factory.

{2} Photographic survey, drawings and analysis. Based on the available cartographic and historical evidence, 54 Dunster Street was constructed in the early 1890s, presumably for Facer & White, boot manufacturers, who were listed as occupants in 1896. The original building comprised the present three-storey structure occupying the northern half of the site, along with a small block containing WCs on each floor, and an adjacent enclosed yard to the rear. Dating the construction of the rear two-storey extension has been more problematic, as there are conflicts between the cartographic and structural evidence. On balance it seems likely that the extension to the factory was built either for Facer & White or their successors, George Wearing & Co, who had taken over the building by 1906. By 1912, 54 Dunster Street was being used as M Moss & Sons’ leather warehouse, a function which it appears to have retained until the mid-20th century. The only remaining features relating to the building’s original use are those concerned with moving materials between floors, and therefore also relevant to warehousing. In the latter half of the 20th century, 54 Dunster Street was the premises of R.G. Engineering, a precision engineering company working in the aeronautics and automotive industries.

<1> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Site 56 (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<2> Zeepvat B., 2017, Historic building recording: 54 Dunster Street, Northampton, 2017 (Report). SNN110971.

<3> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 56 (Journal). SNN111393.

<4> Historic England, Undated, 54 Dunster Street, Northampton, BF103491 (Archive). SNN115573.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 7:22PM