Loake Brothers Ltd is a British

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

, founded in 1880, family-owned and still located in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

, Northamptonshire. The company was founded by the brothers John, Thomas and William Loake in 1880, in an outbuilding at Thomas Loake's house at 62 King Street, Kettering. Northamptonshire is the centre of the English shoemaking industry. In 1894, the Loake brothers built a new factory and moved to Wood Street, where it can still be found today. The factory was initially named the Unique Boot Factory. It has a floor area of approximately 20,000 sq ft, accommodates over 300 workers. It was considered one of the finest and most advanced shoe factories in the country, at the time. The factory is split into three parts - bottom stock (soles), the making room, where the shoes are finished, and a warehouse. Loake specialises in men's traditionally crafted handmade Goodyear-welted shoes. Construction of some styles involves using 130 skilled workers, up to 75 shoe parts and over 200 different operations and can take 8 weeks to make from start to finish. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Loake contributed to the war effort with the manufacture of Terrain boots, Convalescent boots and Despatch Riders boots for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Cossack boots were also made for the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

. Loake participated in the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibi ...

, which was held at

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, England from 23 April 1924 to 31 October 1925. It was hoped that the Exhibition would strengthen the bonds within the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, stimulate trade and demonstrate British greatness both abroad and at home. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, factories in Great Britain were required to allocate production space to the war effort. Loake produced footwear for both the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. At its peak, production was 2,500 pairs of boots per week. In 1997, due to the decline of British manufacturing, market conditions and in-line with other British shoemakers, Loake made the decision to move about two-thirds of its closing operation - the stitching of its uppers - to India. Loake is involved in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

with a privately owned Indian company, whose factory is located near Chennai. Loake have held a Royal Warrant since 2007, for providing men's footwear to Her Majesty the Queen. In 2011, Loake opened their first standalone retail store in Jermyn Street, London. In 2015, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' wrote of "the brand’s durable, comfortable but stylish footwear".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loake Companies established in 1880 British Royal Warrant holders 1880 establishments in England Shoe companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Northamptonshire Luxury brands Privately held companies of England Shoe brands English brands