The Barker story began
in the humble setting of a garden on North Road in Earls Barton, Northampton.
Founder Arthur Barker, a hand-sewn man, personally made footwear in his
workshop but as demand grew his own capabilities he started sending work out to
nearby village home workers.
In 1880, Arthur Barker founded his company and
it wasn’t long before he was joined by his sons, the eldest Charles became a
leather importer while Ernest and Arthur Jr. Worked to fulfil World War I army
boot contracts. In 1905 Arthur and sons moved into a small factory on Station
Road producing fine quality footwear which saw the business developed rapidly
including the establishment of export trade which grew beyond expectation. 75%
of Barker’s output was exported to South Africa and so several workers from
Earls Barton, known as ‘The Pioneers’ emigrated to South Africa to establish a
new branch by Arthur Jr. alongside his son Roy until 1965.
After World War II,
Barker Shoes expanded in Earls Barton with a new factory built on Station Road
for the manufacturing of ladies shoes, allowin the older factory to concentrate
on men’s footwear. In 1948 the third generation of the Barker family joined the
business, brothers Albert and Charles steered the business with Albert becoming
recognised as one of the world’s finest shoe designers. In 1956 the fourth
generation joined the business following in the footsteps of his predecessors,
William (Albert’s son) became a respected shoe maker and designer on his own
merit.
The Barker shoes
tradition continued with an impressive modern factory purpose built in 1986
with the majority of workers living in the village of Earls Barton. Today the
same applies with many of the Barker workers being descendants of a previous
Barker workforce. A focus on manufacturing the finest footwear using premium
materials and traditional techniques continues in the Earls Barton factory.
The most prestigious
collection made by Barker is the Handcrafted Collection, a range of distinctive
styles made using the highest quality European calf leathers that are hand
finished to a deep lustre using antique creams and polishes. Made with a
Goodyear-welted construction, the soles are cut from chestnut tanned Italian
bends leather and feature a laser engraving with the Barker heritage story.
Key Handcrafted styles include the Fleet monk strap, Jevington loafer,
Lerwick Oxford brogue and the Plymouth wholecut shoe. For Spring / Summer 2020
the Barker Handcrafted collection revealed Purley, an elegant derby made on the
396 last with an Algonquin toe deboss detail.
Comments
Post a Comment