Building record 1160/474/1 - Miller Last Works, Arthur Street

The Miller Last Works was built between 1896 and 1899 for the manufacture of iron lasts for the boot and shoe industry. It consists of two storeys over a basement. The original factory was considerably extended in 1903.

{1} Last works, now other commercial uses. 1896. For O. A. Miller. Extensions, 1903, by A. E. Anderson, and 1923. Red brick with buff brick and stone dressings and slate roof. 2 storeys, basement and attic. 5-storey water tower. Front to Arthur Street has a 14-window range of mainly paired timber-framed windows under segmental arches with stone sills. In between each pair of windows are stepped buttresses. Cast-iron framed small-paned windows to basement. To the far left is a projecting entrance gable with door under a bracketed stone hood and window above with pilasters either side. A shaped gable has stone plaque inscribed ‘The Miller Last Works’. The left end to Bunting Road has further 3-light windows. To the far right of the front is a further entrance and this right-handed third is part of the 1903 extension. Beyond this is the impressive tower dated 1903 which is the water tower for the sprinkler system. To ground floor is the main entrance with a double door with overlight and narrow side lights, all set within a moulded stone frame. Above are paired sashes to the front, the top floor with arched heads, and a circular plaque above and on right side inscribed AD 1903. On left side a circular window in a similar frame. Beyond the tower is a 2-and single-storey range added in 1923 (datestone) which has large multi-paned windows and a parapeted roof. The 2-storey range has a carriage entrance and the single-storey range was probably a large workshop. Various secondary blocks to the rear of the works shown on late C19 and C20 maps have not survived.

Oliver Ammi Miller, an American entrepreneur from the shoe-manufacturing town of Brockton, Mass., built this last works in 1896. In 1902 Miller sold his majority holding to the British United Shoe Machinery Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the United Shoe Machinery Corp. of Boston, Mass.. As well as lasts made from imported North American maple, the firm produced fibre fillers and treeing machines among other products. Much of the machinery was also of American origin. In 1903 the works was extended westwards and this included the water tower for the sprinkler system, very necessary considering the valuable stocks of wood as well as finished lasts. The 1920’s extension was for the production of wooden heels. In the 1950’s the firm moved into the production of plastic heels and in 1962 plastic lasts as well. Production ceased in the late 1960’s.
This factory is the only virtually complete surviving last works in Northamptonshire and has the characteristic tower for a sprinkler system since there were large stocks of wooden blanks and finished lasts. Last making was an essential part of the C19 industry as all boots and shoes were constructed on lasts and they had a limited life-span and needed regular replacement. There is further special interest in that the building was constructed for an American and shows the expansion from a US centre for boot and shoe production into Northamptonshire and the changing face of international trade around 1900.

{3} The Miller Last Works was built between 1896 and 1899 for the manufacture of iron lasts for the boot and shoe industry. It consists of two storeys over a basement. The original factory was considerably extended in 1903.

{5} It is now the premises of JuJu Shoes who produce all-plastic moulded footwear.

<1> DCMS, 2004, Listing Schedule, (checked) (Schedule). SNN104967.

<2> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Site 151 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<3> Morrison K.A.; Bond A., 2004, Built To Last? The Buildings of The Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry, p.18+22-23 (unchecked) (Book). SNN104903.

<4> Undated, Rushton Ablett Ltd (formerly The Miller Last Works), Arthur Street, Kingsthorpe Hollow, Northampton, BF103585 (Archive). SNN113576.

<5> Perkins, P, Whittaker, R and Denton, A, 2022, A Guide to the Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire, p. 63/ Site 277 (Book). SNN113793.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 7:20PM