INDUSTRIES 



The above represented the class of boots 

 generally worn at this date. Jockey boots were, of 

 course, for riding, and possessed coloured ' tops ' 

 as at present. The Wellington was introduced 

 into the army by the 'Iron Duke' to displace 

 the old jack boot. The front of the ' leg ' 

 covered the knee, but the leather was cut away 

 at the back. In a modified form it was worn in 

 civil life under the trousers until the third 

 quarter of the nineteeth century. It was shorter 

 than the military boot and was sometimes made 

 with japanned (patent) leather foot and coloured 

 leg of softer leather. The Hessian reached well 

 over the calf, had a stifFer leg than the Welling- 

 ton, and was bound round the top with coloured 

 silk cord, two tassels of which hung down in 

 front. First worn by the Hessian troops, it was 

 fashionable in the early nineteenth century. It 

 was worn over tight pantaloons. The Blucher 

 was a half-boot or high shoe which laced at the 

 front. The Regent was a half-boot also, but 

 did not lace. 



The wages for making Wellingtons ranged 

 from as much as four shillings a pair for best 

 work to as little as half a crown. One pair 

 would be a good day's work. The pay for 

 making Bluchers was is. ^d. to is. lod. 



In 1 82 1, London tradesmen are again found 

 desiring Northampton-made boots, Wellingtons, 

 jockey tops, and men's, women's, and children's ; 

 a regular supply is asked for, and trade is 

 apparently in a flourishing condition.' There 

 seems, however, to have been at times friction 

 between the masters and the men ; nor is this sur- 

 prising when we remember the low rate of wages 

 earned, a state of things which the operatives 

 would naturally attempt to remedy. That they 

 did so attempt, and that their efforts were 

 resented by their employers, is intimated by the 

 following notice of May, 1825 : 



To the Boot and Shoe Trades. 



Wanted, a number of young men who, understand- 

 ing the shoe business, will meet with suitable instruc- 

 tions in the art of Boot Making. Also persons desirous 

 of improving themselves in the art of Shoemaking 

 have the opportunity of receiving the most efficient 

 instruction ; and a considerable number of young men 

 wishing to learn the art of Boot and Shoe Making will 



' The following list, which is taken from the Poll Book 

 of 1 8 20, shows that the number of wholesale shoe manu- 

 facturers in Northampton had increased materially. 

 They then numbered eighteen: Henry Auld, Drapery ; 

 Wm. B. Borton, Horsemarket ; James Brown, St. 

 Giles' Street ; Wm. Dawes, Bearward Street ; John 

 Edens, Abington Street ; John Groom, Abington 

 Street ; Wm. Haslock, Bridge Street ; Wm. James, 

 Marefair ; Thos. Marshall, Bearward Street ; James 

 Marshall, Gold Street ; Jas. Mason, Woolmonger 

 Street ; Chas. Morris, Marefair ; Wm. Parker, Wood 

 Street ; Wm. Penn, Bridge Street ; John D. Penny, 

 Kingswell Street ; John Spencer, Gold Street ; Thos. 

 G. Thompson, South Quarter ; Abraham Yates, 

 Bearward Street. 



be provided with suitable instructions by applying to 



the Manufacturers of Northampton, who are determined 

 their shops shall be free. 



N.B. — Steady and industrious masters who are free 

 journeymen and good workmen are ready to engage a 

 considerable number of apprentices.' 



A few years subsequently the pressure seems 

 to have been relieved, and the difficulty of finding 

 sufficient workmen is replaced by scarcity of 

 work. 



In 1829 we find a petition from the journev- 

 men cordwainers of Northampton to the House 

 of Commons, ' Sheweth that your petitioners 

 are in great distress owing to the want of regu- 

 lar employment and the low price of wages.' 

 They attribute their troubles to the prevalent 

 price of corn and the heavy taxation of the 

 country, etc., and state that they 



' are well satisfied of the good intentions of Govern- 

 ment in removing prohibitions and leaving this 

 Country to combat with Foreign Trade upon the 

 Superiority of their own Manufacture in cases 

 where Foreign Countries will allow the same free 

 Importation to theirs.' 



At the beginning of the nineteenth century a 

 shoe manufacturer's premises would be quite 

 small, in some cases merely a private house, as 

 most of the work was done in the people's 

 homes. An advertisement in the Mercury of 

 January, 1824, is of interest as mentioning an 

 article of foot covering probably unheard of by 

 most people, examples of which are rarely met 

 with. 



* Patent Gambadoes or Mud Boots manu- 

 factured by Goodman and Son, Drapery.' 



Gambadoes were large leather cases in the 

 shape of a boot, and were fixed to the saddle 

 to protect the rider's legs and feet from the 

 cold or mud. They reached the knee, and were 

 of two kinds : the earlier had heavy soles and a 

 wide stiff leg built large enough for the foot 

 with its ordinary covering to be slipped in ; it 

 looked like a boot of exaggerated size. The 

 later type was merely a case of stiff leather 

 blocked into a shape so as to cover the whole of 

 the foot and lower leg. It was made in two 

 parts, a left and right, and fastened together with 

 straps. There is an example of each kind in the 

 Northampton Museum.^ We take the follow- 

 ing from a report of the Northampton Town 

 Council dated 1839 : 



'When a shoemaker is committed to hard labour in 

 the County Gaol he is put upon the seat and made to 



' Northampton Mercury, 28 May, 1825. 



' Gambadoes are mentioned as early as 1656 by 

 Blount ; and Fuller in his Worthies says that thej- were 

 much worn in the west, ' whereby whilst one rides 

 on horseback his legs are in a coach, clean and warm.' 

 Elsworth, in his West Somerset Word Book (published 

 1886), says they were common within his own recol- 

 lection. He describes them as a leather case or shield 

 for the legs of horsemen. 



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