Building record 7203/13/1 - Former Boot & Shoe Factory (William Claridge, J. & C. Claridge Ltd.)

A boot and shoe factory that stands on the south west side of Wellingborough Road, at the bottom of Skinner's Hill. The shoe manufacturing firm of William Claridge was established in 1865 possibly on the present site which incorporates some fabric of about that date or earlier. This includes the house ('Brookfield', No. 29) a two storeyed , three-bay house of rubble limestone construction, with flat stone arches to the ground floor windows. The 1884 Ordnance Survey map shows a linear probably two-storey, continuation of No.29 which probably dates from the 1870s. It had a rear range of two parts and possibly two phases. The earlier and narrower of these two ranges has been demolished, the later and broader section survives as a brick-built three storey seven by three bay block at the western end of the present rear range.The narrower section was rebuilt on three storeys in 1889, extending ten bays beyond the rear of the street frontage. The masonry of the frontage was carried up in rubble limestone to a shaped gable. A blind occulus in the gable has the legend: Rebuilt, 1889, WC within a moulded surround.By 1899 three other major additions had been built, a gatehouse block on the street frontage, a wing projecting from the rear range and a series of north-lit sheds.

{1} J&C Claridge Ltd, Skinners Hill. Firm established by William Claridge in 1860. Factory produced footwear with brand names such as 'Eureka' 'Beau' 'Broadway' and 'Riviera'.
Elaborate stone building on Wellingborough Road - shown on early Ordnance Survey maps as boot and shoe factory. 'Rebuilt 1889 WC' on the front. Film 3, photo 24; Film 4, photo 2.

{3} Factory founded by William Claridge in 1860. At least one of the warehouses was built by 1879. The main frontage of the factory was rebuilt in 1889 and the polychrome gatehouse block was built between 1889-1900. Company taken over by sons John and Charles in 1891. Premises sold to House of Langham in 1954 and then to John White Footwear in 1955. Sold by John White in 1961, when the association with the boot and shoe trade ended.
The factory buildings appear to have evolved from a domestic stone house, built in the early 19th century. Most of the factory buildings were built prior to 1885; the frontage was rebuilt in 1889. Much of the interior was stripped of any vestiges of use as a boot and shoe factory, during its use as an engineering firm. The ground storey of house retained some early 19th century features.

{5} CONTEXT
The former Claridge shoe factory (now known as Stromag, 29 Wellingborough Road) is earmarked for demolition as part of a residential development scheme. The outline planning application for development was originally refused by the local authority but their decision was overturned on appeal. The site is not in a Conservation Area and there is no local list for East Northamptonshire.

HISTORY
The firm of William Claridge, boot and shoe manufacturers, was founded in Rushden in 1865, possibly on the present site. The Ordnance Survey map of 1884 shows a front range and two rear ranges on the current site on Wellingborough Road. In 1889 the factory was rebuilt, as per the datestone with initials 'WC'. After William Claridge's death in 1891, the firm was carried on by John and Charles Claridge. The gatehouse and ranges to the south-east of the rear range were added by 1899, according to the OS map. By 1922 the firm had been renamed J & C Claridge. The 1923 OS map shows minor additions in the yard. By 1978 the yard had been infilled, and the front range to the south-east of the gatehouse had been demolished. Since at least 1999 the buildings have been occupied by Stromag Ltd.

DESCRIPTION
This factory stands on the south-west side of Wellingborough Road, at the bottom of Skinner's Hill. The firm of William Claridge was established in 1865 and some of the fabric might date from that period. This includes Claridge's house (formerly known as 'Brookfield', No. 29 Wellingborough Road), which is a two-storeyed three-bay house of rubble limestone construction. It has flat stone arches to the ground-floor windows and a central entrance with a simple classical surround in timber. Only one of the original sash windows survives and the slate roof has been replaced with concrete tiles. The three-storeyed factory adjoining to the south-east has similar masonry and hornless sashes to the ground and first floors; window heads appear mostly to have been renewed or re-faced, but one retains the same form as on the house. This suggests that some earlier fabric survived the 1889 rebuilding of the factory. The 1884 OS map suggests that this fabric formed part of a linear, probably two-storeyed continuation of No. 29, rather than a distinct three-storeyed range at right-angles, as now.

The 1884 map also shows a rear range of two parts and probably two phases. A narrow range is shown immediately behind the south-east end of the street range, and behind it a shorter but broader range which was presumably added at a later date, possibly the 1870s. The earlier narrow range was either demolished or widened to the north-west in the 1889 rebuilding, but the broader range appears to have survived in the form of the three-storeyed seven-by-three-bay block at the western end of the present rear range. It has windows with blue brick segmental heads and sills, and cogged eaves. The north-west and south-west elevations are in red brick, but the south-east elevation (fronting what appears to have been the main factory yard in 1884) is in buff brick with red brick arches. Buff brick is also used for the street elevation of a two-storeyed extension to the original house, on the north-west side. This appears on the 1884 map undifferentiated from the original house, though it originally had a separate entrance. The rear wall and north-west gable of the extension are in orange brick. Other ranges shown on the 1884 map defined the streetward edge and south-eastern flank of the factory yard, but these were demolished sometime before 1978.

The narrower section of the rear range was rebuilt on three storeys in 1889, extending ten bays beyond the rear of the street frontage, and slightly exceeding the width of the earlier range to the south-west. The masonry of the frontage was carried up in rubble limestone to a shaped gable with ashlar kneelers and copings and a finial. A blind oculus in the gable has the legend: 'REBUILT / 1889 / WC' (for William Claridge) within a moulded surround. The windows in this elevation retain the asymmetry of the 1860s work. Behind the stone front the rebuilt range is of brick construction, with cambered window heads and cogged eaves. The roof was re-covered in concrete tiles. The 1899 OS map shows a carriageway passing through the range roughly halfway along its length.

By 1899 three other major additions had been built: a gatehouse block on the street frontage; a wing projecting from the rear range; and a series of north-lit sheds. The three-storeyed gatehouse wraps around the south-east corner of the 1889 frontage, and originally infilled the gap between the frontage range described above and another (now demolished) to the south-east. It has an elaborate rubble limestone front on a blue brick base, with alternating limestone and ironstone quoins and voussoirs, and a chequer pattern in the parapet. On the ground floor there is a wide yard entrance and a narrow pedestrian entrance; both are chamfered with moulded and keyed segmental arches. Above the ground floor the wall is recessed between banded piers. On the first floor a canted timber oriel is flanked by narrow windows with elongated keystones, and there are two windows (with replacement frames) on the second floor. The parapet is set between lozenge motifs on the piers. The roof is gabled to the south-east, where the gatehouse formerly abutted a two-storeyed range. The roof has been re-covered with concrete tiles. The added three-storeyed wing is set back two bays from the south-west end of the rear range, and projects about five bays to the south-east, where the hipped end is three windows wide. It is constructed of orange brick and the windows have blue brick sills and cast-iron frames.

ASSESSMENT
The wholesale boot and shoe industry has a presence in many parts of England, but nowhere did it have a greater impact on the built environment than in Northamptonshire. A survey of the Northamptonshire boot and shoe industry was carried out by English Heritage in 1999-2001, identifying more than 450 surviving buildings. This led to the publication of 'Built to Last? The Buildings of the Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry' in 2004. The survey also formed the basis of a thematic listing review in 2003-5, and those boot and shoe buildings which were considered to have special architectural and historic interest on a national level were put forward for listing. Some of the buildings were recommended for listing for the impressive quality of their designs, for example the Dalkeith Works on Green Lane, Kettering (1873, Grade II) and Trickers, St Michael's Road, Northampton (1880s, Grade II). Others were listed as rare survivals of a once-common type, such as the former Globe Leather Works on Dunster Street in Northampton (1880s, Grade II, the only currier's in England to retain its drying-loft louvres), and the Factory Building on Havelock Street in Kettering (c1860, Grade II, an early and intact small-scale works).

The former Claridge works were inspected and recorded by the boot and shoe survey on 8 December 1999, and photographed on 6 April 2000. By then they were no longer in use as a shoe factory. The detailed survey description contains an analysis of the various building phases and alterations. The condition was recorded as 'fair' as opposed to 'good', and the suitability for further recording as 'medium' as opposed to 'high'. In the subsequent thematic listing review, this building was not deemed to have sufficient special architectural or historic interest on a national level to be eligible for listing.

The current spot-listing application does not contain any new information and there is no reason to alter the view taken by the thematic listing team. The former Claridge factory is clearly significant in terms of the local history of Rushden, and makes a positive and attractive contribution to the streetscape. However, in national terms, it does not have sufficient interest to elevate it above the other surviving boot and shoe buildings. As the 1999 survey noted, the Claridge factory was not the product of a single unified design, but rather an amalgamation of 1860s and 1889 fabric, with 1890s additions. It therefore lacks cohesiveness as a design, and there are oddities such as the asymmetrical window openings in the gabled elevation. The fact that the buildings are fronted in stone is insufficient in itself to be considered of special interest. Intactness is also a major consideration in assessing post-1840 buildings for listing, and unfortunately the Claridge buildings do not fulfil this criterion. A number of the original buildings were demolished in the later twentieth century, and there has been loss of some features such as windows and roof covering. The buildings have no rarity value to outweigh the extent of alterations and losses to the fabric, either in terms of their plan form or as illustrations of the manufacturing process. It is unlikely that any significant interior features associated with shoe manufacturing have survived the conversion to other industrial use.

Historic England, Undated, 29 Wellingborough Road, Rushden, BF103820 (Archive). SNN114143.

<1> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Industrial Period, (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN4.

<2> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, Site 54 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<3> Walker, C., 2015, Archaeological building recording at the former Stromag Factory, Wellingborough Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire 2015 (Report). SNN110156.

<4> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 35 (Journal). SNN111326.

<5> ENGISH HERITAGE, English Heritage Listing File (Report). SNN111579.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2025 1:04PM