Monument record 2878/58/1 - Shoe factory, Gladstone Street/New Street (RS Lawrence & Co)

A large former boot and shoe factory on the south side of Gladstone Street was built around 1868 for the boot and shoe makers Benjamin Riley Limited. The Riley family had built a silk plush factory on the site in c1830 but converted it to a boot making factory in c1868. The factory originally consisted of two two-storey ranges separated by a courtyard but the eastern range has been demolished. It is eighteen bays long and has 5x6 light windows and a slate covered roof. A three-storey office block was added to the front of the original factory in the late 1890s. The factory is now used as a leather store. The factory closed in 1999. The ground floor interior has been considerably altered but some elements of the original columns survive and there is very little of the original structure reamaining.

{1} Boot and Shoe Factory, Gladstone Street / New Street
Boot and Shoe factory marked on Ordnance Survey maps of 1887, 1900 and 1926 with an extension to the works. The original structures have been demolished, but the extension is still in use by BTP Components Ltd, it was not possible to determine to what extent the interior of the building has been altered. Plaque on the door indicates that the property was once Head Office for 'RS Lawrence and Co Leather Factors and Sole Cutters'. The factory was originally 2 storeys high, but there was quarrying (for ironstone) beneath the building in the late 19th-century. The building was propped up as the works progressed and when work was finished an additional storey was added to the ground storey.

{2} A Historic Buildings Survey was carried out on the former Lawrence Boot and Shoe factory and cottages at 15-21 Harborough Road. A written and photographic record of the buildings and their settings were made. The boot and shoe factory is empty and has been stripped of all machinery.

{3} An early two storey 18 bay brick built factory with cast iron windows. Thought to date from the 1860s and originally used as a shoe factory. Until recently, it was part of the long established premises of RS Lawrence, leather and component suppliers;

{5} The older part of the factory is an 18-bay three-storey brick building with iron-framed windows constructed some time before 1880. As such it remains a relatively early example of a Northants shoe factory. It is also one of the few, if not only, remaining shoe factories in the county which are formed in such a long single continuous structure. It is also the only remaining example of an early shoe factory in Desborough.

{8} The building is on the site of the original factory of the Riley family, who established a silk plush factory in c1830 which they converted to a boot making factory c1868.

The building is predominantly constructed of late C19 brickwork with a slate covered roof. The 5 x 6 light windows are typical of Victorian factory architecture. According to research undertaken by English Heritage, Riley's factory in Gladstone Street, Desborough is one of the few factories of this type that exceeded twelve bays, and at eighteen bays is considered to be one of the longest (English Heritage, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry: Summary Report, p.37).

The factory closed in 1999 and has been targeted by vandals. The ground floor windows are currently sealed in with metal plates and the first floor windows are boarded from the inside. Most visible panes are smashed. The ground floor interior is considerably altered but some elements of the original columns survive. Parts of the roof structure are visible from the upper floor, but there is very little of the original structure remaining. The layout has been compromised by later additions and there is evidence of fire damage.

The town house, also mentioned in the application is said to date from c1840 and remains a residential dwelling. According to English Heritage advice of January 2004 (Ref. 154684 - outcome, no do not list) this building is too altered to merit listing. We consider that this remains the situation.

The Industrial Buildings Selection Guide, states that where survival is less good, there may still be a case for designation, but judgement will be required. In some cases historical association with notable achievements may be sufficient to list (p.3). Wheatsheaf Works, The Co-operative Boot and Shoe Factory, Leicester, (UID 432493), listed at Grade II, not only demonstrates the required level of architectural interest, but at the time of construction was celebrated as the largest footwear factory in the world. Other listed examples such as the Barratt Shoe Factory, Northampton, listed at Grade II, tend to exhibit extravagant architectural embellishment, or as in the case of the Manfield Shoe Factory, Northampton, are largely intact. The English Heritage Boot and Shoe Factory Survey of 2000 resulted in designation of those factories which had special interest at a national level. Lawrence's Factory, Desborough, was not considered to be of sufficient merit to be listed as a result of the survey. It was converted from an earlier silk factory of which nothing of historic interest survives, and has lost virtually all of its internal fittings. It does not have the architectural or historic interest to merit listing.

<1> Ballinger, J, 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Desborough (Industrial), (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN100502.

<2> Prentice J., 2007, Archaeological Building Assessment at The Lawrence Boot and Shoe Factory, Cottages on 15-21 Harboroough Road and The Tin Tabernacle on Havelock Street, Desborough, Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Report). SNN106042.

<3> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Additional photographs in buildings files (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<4> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<5> NORTHAMPTONSHIRE INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY GROUP, 2010, Comments Regarding Planning Application re. Demolition of Former Lawrence's Factory site, Desborough, (checked) (Note). SNN107159.

<7> Mountfield, P, 1982, Photographs of shoe factories in Desborough, Photo D1 (Photographic prints (B&W)). SNN111526.

<8> ENGISH HERITAGE, English Heritage Listing File, No list case: Mr T Calladine, HPTL, 2 October 2009 (Report). SNN111579.

<9> Historic England, Undated, Lawrence's Factory (formerly Benjamin Riley shoe factory), Gladstone Street, Desborough, BF103785 (Archive). SNN114306.

Record last edited

Feb 5 2025 6:39PM