Building record 1160/494/1 - Express Boot Factory

The Express Boot Factory was built during the late 1890s. In 1999 it was in the course of conversion to residential use, retaining little more than the facade.

{1} Built between 1896 and 1897 to designs by the achitects Mosley & Anderson. A photograph was published in The Builder on 24 April 1897. From at least the 1920s until the 1960s the factory was occupied by the firm of George Webb & Son, described in 1929 as manufacturers of mens shoes. By 1999 much of the site had been demolished but part of the range fronting Bunting Road on the west remained.

{4} Site visit in response to application for conversion of building into flats. Factory architecture on Bunting Road elevation particularly notable because of the 9 Bell gables, and ornate work on stone crest of indeterminate meaning and significance on central gable (slide no. 5). Utilitarian buildings only elsewhere on site although inspection only cursory.

{6} In 1907, occupied by George Swan. George Webb & Sons took over in 1927 and extended/rebuit the factory to form their Mentone Works. Taken over by the Ward-White footwear group in the 1960s, closing in 1982. Converted to apartments.

<1> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Site 152 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<2> Morrison K.A.; Bond A., 2004, Built To Last? The Buildings of The Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104903.

<3> Ellison M., 1999, Former shoe factory, Bunting Road, Northampton, (unchecked) (Slides). SNN100650.

<4> Ellison M., 1999, SMR Report Form, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN100649.

<5> Undated, Webbs Factory (formerly Express Boot Factory), Bunting Road, Kingsthorpe Hollow, Northampton, BF103586 (Archive). SNN113577.

<6> Perkins, P, Whittaker, R and Denton, A, 2022, A Guide to the Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire, p. 63/ Site 276 (Book). SNN113793.

Record last edited

Feb 5 2025 7:18PM