Museum Collections

The Shoe Collection at Northampton is the largest collection of shoe heritage in the world and is designated as being of national and international importance.  Its strength lies in its scope and range including everything from fine historic footwear to cast iron machinery, watercolours to hand tools, extensive archive to button hooks and shoe laces.

• Footwear, more than 12,000 items ranging from ancient Egyptian material to contemporary design
• Wearing accessories, including buckles, laces, shoe horns, trees, spats, leggings and polish
• Shoemaking tools, machines and accessories including wax, nails and thread
• Material from the retail trade including furniture and fittings from shops, window display fittings and a range of advertising material
• Documentary material including trade catalogues and journals, posters, postcards, books and photographs
• Fine and decorative art including paintings and prints depicting shoes and shoemaking as well as representations of the theme in other media
• Index of shoemakers and shoemaking firms from the Roman period onwards
• Index of concealed shoes; shoes hidden in buildings to bring good luck

The footwear collection is based at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery. We also have an extensive specialist reference library.If you have any enquiries relating to our collection, please contact Rebecca Shawcross rshawcross@northampton.gov.uk or 01604 837281.  

Date last reviewed 14/05/2010