Building record 3250/0/120 - Shoe Factory, Cobbs Lane

This boot and shoe factory has a two storey corner block, which may originally have been domestic, a further two storey block further down Cobb Lane (separated by modern building) and at least three north lit sheds of five bays beyond. The factory was constructed circa 1870.

{1} A multi-phase site comprising both offices and factory buildings, is where Benjamin griggs, the founder of R Griggs and Co, set up a boot making partnership with Septimus Jones in 1901.
In the 1950s William Griggs formed the Wollaston Vulcanising Co-operative, with the intention of producing cost efficient vulcanised soles. In 1959 the Wollaston Vulcanising Cooperative entered into an agreement, which gave it exclusive manufacturing rights to produce Doctor Martens Air Cushioned Soles. The first Doctor Marten was produced in 1960 at the Cobbs Lane factory (o.t.). The original Cobbs Lane Factory became the headquarters of a large organisation due to the popularity of Doctor Martens. The R Griggs Group Ltd. recently ceased production on this site as a result of restructuring. The existing buildings are to be retained as offices and storage space (o.t.).
The earliest building, on the corner of High Street and Cobbs Lane, was originally a domestic building probably dating to the late 19th century. The ranges of factory buildings extending down Cobbs Lane includes a modern office block and a north-lit range of coursed rubble probably dates to the 1930s.

<1> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, WOLL1 (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<2> Historic England, Undated, R Griggs Group Ltd, Cobbs Lane, Wollaston (Archive). SNN113288.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 6:24PM