William Green and Son
of Rushden, Northants.
1866 William Green began making shoes in the loft above the Corn Merchants in Rushden, Northamptonshire; William would hand out the work to outworkers daily, visiting each one.
1874 As his business grew, he needed to increase production; machinery had just been introduced so he moved into his first "factory" at Green Yard. This was one of the first factories in the world to use the Goodyear Welted method of shoemaking.
1895 The business had grown enough to require bigger premises; the firm built a state of the art factory at the corner of Queen Street and Cromwell Road.
1901 William Green died and the left the business to his son, C. A. K. Green.
1913 The business decided to move with the times by developing a "modern brand name" something that was just becoming fashionable. They shortened the company name to GRENSON, which became one of the first trade names ever to be registered in the UK.
WWI Produced thousands of boots and shoes for the soldiers
WWII Made many shoes and boots for the soldiers, not only of British forces but of the Allied Forces too. Among many styles it developed a flying boot with a leg that zips off to make running easier in case of being shot down in enemy territory.
1950 Heyden Green, the last member of the Green family involved with the business, visited America where he saw the majority of men were wearing soft, comfortable moccasins. He visited India where the best hand-stitching skills were to be found and began to make a collection that gave the company a new lease of life during the post war depression.
1960-2005 Grenson created many innovative products such as exotic skin shoes but eventually began to decline due to the growing number of imports from the far east.
2008 Opened the first Grenson shop in Liverpool Street, London.
2010 Tim Little bought out the owners and opened a second store, in Hanbury Street, East London, and an e-commerce website.
2011 Expansion into selling through high quality wholesale distribution.
2013 Left the Queen Street factory to move to the current factory.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Grenson heritage