Sanders and Sanders, Loake Brothers and RE Tricker are all based in and around Northampton, England therefore we should have a look at this important centre of shoemaking and its history.
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about 67 miles (108 km) north-west of London and around 50 miles (80 km) south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene. It is the county town of Northamptonshire.
The district’s population is 200,100 and the town population is 189,474, making Northampton the 22nd-largest settlement in England, and the UK’s 4th-largest town without official city status, after Reading, Dudley and Milton Keynes. Northampton is the most populous district in England that is not a unitary authority, a status it failed to obtain in the 1990s local government reform. Northampton’s population has increased greatly since the 1960s, largely due to planned expansion under the New Towns Commission in the early 1960s.
Northampton was a major centre of shoemaking and other leather industries, although only specialist shoemaking companies such as Church’s and Trickers, formerly located in nearby Earls Barton, survive. A large number of old shoe factories remain, mostly now converted to offices or accommodation, some of which are surrounded by terraced houses built for factory workers. Northampton’s main private-sector employers are now in distribution and finance rather than manufacturing, and include Avon Products, Barclaycard, Blacks Leisure Group, Nationwide Building Society, Panasonic, Travis Perkins, Coca Cola, Schweppes, National Grid, Texas Instruments and Carlsberg. The University of Northampton is also a major employer.
Anglia Building Society was formed by amalgamation of Northampton Town and County Building Society with Leicestershire Building Society in 1966 and subsequently merged with Nationwide Building Society in 1987.
R.E. Tricker Ltd
56-60 St. Michaels Road
Northampton NN1 3JX
Sanders & Sanders Ltd
Spencer Road
Rushden
Northants NN10 6AE
Loake Bros. Ltd
Wood Street
Kettering
Northamptonshire NN16 9SN
Sebago shoes is a truly international company and their shoes are now made worldwide. To view the entire range of shoes and boots from these factories visit Bradshaw and Lloyd’s website.
