PICTURED: MARLON WRIGHT.
Jermyn Street’s Open Door Series will be honouring the brands and businesses that make our street the home of gentleman’s style, and the pinnacle of British craftsmanship, by spotlighting your favourite brands, and the people behind them, as we get ready to invite you through our doors once more!
Loake Shoemakers is arguably one of the most famed footwear brands in Britain and is still run by the Loake family to this day. Established in 1880, they have been producing exquisite shoes from their factory in Kettering, Northamptonshire ever since.
Like many of our British heritage brands, Loake had humble beginnings before becoming the iconic institution it is today. Created by three brothers, John, William and Thomas Loake, the business was started in an outbuilding at Thomas’s house. Fourteen years later, in 1894, the business moved into Wood Street, Kettering, where it can still be found today. The factory area was over 20,000sqft, with room enough for 300 employees, and at that time was considered one of the finest and most technologically advanced shoe factories in the world. It was originally called the Unique Boot Factory and was split into three parts – bottom stock (soles), the making room, where the shoes were finished, and a warehouse.
During the First World War, Loake contributed to the war effort by creating Terrain boots, Convalescent boots and Despatch boots for the British army, as well as providing Cossack boots for the Russian Army. After the war ended, in 1929 the Wood Street Factory caught fire to devastating effect, with a large portion of it being destroyed. All hope was not lost, however, and the local community of craftsmen came together and began working from home or at the houses of neighbours to make sure the company’s orders were met. This loyalty was a testament to the business as a whole and how ‘family-run’ often does lead to establishing a successful familial community in the workplace.
After celebrating their 50 Year Jubilee, the Loake Brand was officially registered in 1945. During the Second World War, Loake again contributed to the war effort, this time producing footwear for both the Royal Navy and the Royal Airforce and, at its peak, were producing 2,500 pairs a week. Loake celebrated its centenary in 1980, and in 2007 received a Royal Warrant by Appointment of HM The Queen for the Manufacture of Men’s Footwear.
Jermyn Street’s Loake store was established in 2011 and has sat proud among its fellow British Heritage brands ever since. To this day their English Goodyear Welted footwear is constructed, using their time-honed techniques, in much the same way as at the brand’s inception. Loake have never compromised on quality and each individual pair takes eight weeks to produce, while some 130 skilled craftspeople, up to 75 different shoe parts and 200 different operations are involved. They estimate that they have made over 60 million pairs of shoes over their years in operation and have continued to champion craftsmanship and acute attention to detail across every pair. More recently, they have also complemented their traditional collection with an expanded range of luxury casuals to offer a complete wardrobe of shoes, for any occasion. Five generations and more than 140 years later, Loake’s name continues to be synonymous with high quality hand-made British footwear to this day and Jermyn Street is lucky to have them.