Building record 3738/19/1 - Boot & Shoe Factory (W.J. Brookes, aka The Kinky Boot Factory)

The three storey shoe factory built by W.J Brookes in 1889 is the largest in New Barton. It stands on a corner site with a gabled three-bay front to King Street on the south and fourteen window bays to North Road on the west. A datestone in south gable carries the inscription ' W.J.B. 1889'. Probably shortly after 1889 the factory was extended by a wide two storey range which occupied the remainder of the plot frontage. In the angle formed by the original factory and this addition further ranges were built after the Second World War.

{2} 3 storey red brick shoe factory in 1889 and later 2 storey extension. The factory operated under the same name until mid-2000. A wall-mounted crane still exists adjacent to the 1st floor doors in the 2 storey extension. Although a part of the factory is being demolished, the rest is due to be converted into flats.

{4} The 3-storeyed shoe factory built by WJ Brookes in 1889 is the largest in New Barton. It stands on a corner site, with a gabled three-bay front to King Street on the south and fourteen window bays to North Road on the west. A datestone in the south gable carries the inscription 'W.J.B. 1889' but a wider than normal pier between the sixth and seventh windows from the south suggests a two-phase evolution of six and then eight bays. If so (and the two ranges are otherwise hard to distinguish), the extension was accomplished before 1899 on map evidence. The factory was extended again shortly after 1899 and after the Second World War.

<1> Ballinger J., 2000, W.J. Brookes Works, King Street, Earls Barton, (checked) (Photographic prints (COL)). SNN103193.

<2> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, NIAG Industrial Gazetteer, (part checked) (Draft). SNN101121.

<3> HET Buildings Conservation Team, 1993-2006, Buildings Planning Files, E107/2/11 (part checked) (HET Planning File (Buildings)). SNN105512.

<4> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Site 12 (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<5> Bailey, B, Pevsner, N, and Cherry, B, 2013, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 243 (Book). SNN111989.

<6> Historic England, Undated, Brookes Mews, King Street, Earls Barton (formerly W J Brookes Ltd, 46 King Street), BF103839 (Archive). SNN114615.

Record last edited

Feb 5 2025 7:19PM