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GrensonLogo

Filed under: EDC Footwear 

Grenson

Established: 1866  |  Country of Origin: England

Grenson Shoes was started by William Green. Born in 1835 William’s mother taught him his trade as he helped her to produce mens boots at home. It was only a cottage-based business but at that time, most shoemaking was still a cottage industry. He continued to help his mother until 1860 when he moved out of home and continued this in his own home until 1866. In 1866, William stopped producing shoes and boots in his house and instead became a ‘factor’. This essentially meant he went out to get the orders, find the materials and employ craftsmen to fulfill the orders. The obvious next step for him was to formalize this arrangement and set up a company, which became known as William Green & Son. William was successful with wholesalers and it was not long before his mens shoes and boots became famous for their quality, craftsmanship and durability. The company attracted some of the finest shoe craftsmen in the business and William opened the first factory in 1874. The ̳Greens Yard‘ factory was the first factory in the world to use the Goodyear welt construction method for manufacturing gentlemen‘s shoes. ‘Green & Son’ soon became Grenson, a powerful brand which still dominates the shoe industry today.

Twenty years on, in 1895, Grenson moved to a larger premises to accommodate for the surge in demand which they experienced throughout the nineteenth century. The factory is our current factory on Queen Street and is the heart of this thriving shoe business.

Grenson continued to be owned and run by the Green family, with Charles AK Green following his father William, CW Sidney Green following his father and finally JW Heyden Green, Williams great grandson running the business until the 1980s when he sold it. The new owners were the Purslow family who ran the business for nearly thirty years before finally selling it to Tim Little in 2010.