Loake (Loake Brothers Limited) is a British shoemaker, founded in 1880, family-owned and still located in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
The company was founded by the brothers John, Thomas and William Loake in 1880, in an outbuilding at Thomas Loake's house at 62 King Street, Kettering.[1] Northamptonshire is the centre of the English shoemaking industry. In 1894, the Loake brothers built a new factory and moved to Wood Street, where it can still be found today. The factory was initially named the Unique Boot Factory. It has a floor area of approximately 20,000 sq ft, accommodates over 300 workers. It was considered one of the finest and most advanced shoe factories in the country, at the time. The factory is split into three parts - bottom stock (soles), the making room, where the shoes are finished, and a warehouse.
Loake specialises in men's traditionally crafted handmade Goodyear-welted shoes. Construction of some styles involves using 130 skilled workers, up to 75 shoe parts and over 200 different operations and can take 8 weeks to make from start to finish.
