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 '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

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

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

, Northamptonshire. Loake specialises in men's traditionally crafted handmade Goodyear-welted shoes.

History

Founding and early history

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 Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

is the centre of the English

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

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.

World Wars I and II

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Cossack boots were also made for the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

. 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 Government of the United Kingdom, British Government decide ...

, 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 broad ...

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 the London Borou ...

, 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 comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. At its peak, production was 2,500 pairs of boots per week.

Post-War

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 risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with a privately owned Indian company, whose factory is located near

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. 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 Jermyn Street is a One-way traffic, one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing r ...

, 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 publis ...

'' 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 Family-owned companies of England Shoe brands English brands