Crown Northampton – Sneakers with the Best of English Shoemaking

Our dive into Crown Northampton, the sneaker artisans from the English shoemaking mecca that has the quality and craftsmanship to match.

David Shuck

There is one city in the world that’s known above all others for making the finest shoes in the world. And it’s not Paris, New York, Milan, or any other town you’d see on a high fashion t-shirt.

About a hundred kilometers northwest of London is Northampton, the original home of esteemed shoemakers like Edward Green, John Lobb, Crockett & Jones, and the latest addition, Crown Northampton.

While the latter have developed their techniques for boots and dress shoes, Crown Northampton has focused centuries of local innovation and technique on producing the highest quality pair of sneakers anyone can produce anywhere. There’s no expense or labor spared, using materials like Horween Shell Cordovan, oak-tanned midsoles, and veg-tanned calfskin linings paired. We had the chance to chat with fifth-generation Northampton shoemaker Chris Woodford and his mission to bring the best of English shoemaking to a new generation of artisans and enthusiasts.

Who is Chris and Northampton

Chris and the Woodford family’s connection to shoemaking began in 1908, when his great grandfather Earnest Woodford, opened a bespoke shoe shop called E. Woodford & Son. The family business did it all, producing military boots during World Wars One and Two, dress shoes for Saville Row, and everything in between.

The region of Northamptonshire alone produced around fifty million pairs of boots for the allied forces during World War One. If you lived anywhere near the UK in the twentieth century, chances are there were Northampton shoes on your feet.

Chris began making shoes in the 1990s and he spent decades learning and working the old-fashioned, hand-producing every aspect of shoes that sold for thousands of pounds on Saville Row. But the footwear preferences of many had changed. Out were leather-soled boots and museum calf oxfords, everyone was wearing sneakers.

Chris wanted to make a shoe that represented the best of Northampton but would be worn on more than just special occasions. He set out to make the best sneaker anyone could possibly build with his handcrafted expertise.

Chris’s first sneaker customers were in Japan (surprise, surprise), but he discovered that while the mainstream appeal of Northampton’s craft may have waned overall, there was a new generation of hyper-fixated online enthusiasts that understood and appreciated every aspect of fine shoemaking (that’s you, the person reading this).

Instead of relegating his business through wholesale distribution, he went direct to consumer, launching the brand as Crown Northampton in 2016.

How Crown Northampton Makes a Pair of Sneakers

Crown Northampton’s shoes can’t be compared to your typical sneakers from Nike or Vans or even a higher-end make like Common Projects, they’re handmade English dress shoes that just happen to wear and look like sneakers.

Everything is made in-house and every aspect of the production follows the same steps as what you would find from a welted oxford, Crown Northampton just stitches a rubber sole on at the end rather than a leather one.

They click the same way, last the same way, French bind the upper the same way, they even fill the footbed with hot cork. They can also handwelt your pair on request. I mean, have you ever seen a wholecut sneaker before?

These techniques directly match the skills of Northampton’s workforce and are made almost entirely by hand.

And the quality of the materials match the intensity of the production. Upper materials range from chrome-tanned calfskin to Horween shell cordovan; the midsole is a thick piece of oak-tanned leather that would make Red Wing blush; and the sole is either custom made to match the shade of the leather upper or a natural tree rubber Lactae Hevea cup sole that will age and patina gracefully with wear.

If there are better suppliers to use, let Chris know and he’ll use them. Crown Northampton is devoted to making the best product they possibly can.

Their offerings are not cheap, starting at 300GBP for a white calf derby sneaker (about $330 US and still about 100 less than the Common Projects equivalent), but they are some of the best value you’ll find for construction and material in any shoe you can buy.

Putting the Soul in Resoleable

And before you grouse about all the effort and materials painstakingly poured into a pair of sneakers, “What’s the point when you can’t resole it??” Well, that’s just the point, if you do go to these lengths with the right materials and technique, you can resole it!

If you build a sneaker to the same standard as a high-end dress shoe, it can be resoled just as easily. The leather uppers on a pair of Crown Northampton sneakers are hand lasted and then welted to a cup sole that can be removed and replaced as easily as it was attached, a restoration service that Chris and his team of skilled artisans can provide for every shoe they make.

You can see all the steps in between the above images on their blog.

The Offerings of Crown Northampton

We’ve mostly discussed sneakers up to this point and Crown Northampton has several models to choose from:  high and low derbies, high and low wholecuts, cap toes, and a newly produced Abbey Oxford in Horween’s impossibly soft Dearborn leather.

All of those, save the Abbey, are available in nearly every shade of Horween Chromexcel, Buffalo, and Shell Cordovan you can imagine as well as several more of deer suede, calfskin, and Badalassi Minerva.

They also make a selection of Desert Boots and Shoes, minimalist Jazz dance shoes, mules, and loafers, and a matching selection of leather belts and wallets. Limited releases and one-offs of special leathers are also arriving regularly.

Everything is made to order, so if you’re ready to put Chris and his team in Northampton to work, visit their site for the full collection. If you’re in the area, you’re also more than welcome to see all the shoemaking in action at their showroom and workshop at 86 Bunting Road, Northampton.

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