A Load of Old Cobblers

These tools were used by Mr. D. Boulton in his shoe repair shop on Parliament Street in Stroud. The cast iron last provided a base for sole and heel repairs, using such replacement heels as the 2 shown and the metal rasp was for smoothing and finishing. These are just a small selection from the many cobbler tools and supplies in our collection, representing 3 local shops which offered a shoe repair service. Items from Mr. Boulton’s were donated to the museum in 1987 and in 1988 over 200 objects came from Ben Bishop’s Shoe Shop in Minchinhampton. Further items from W. A. Jacobs, based at 47 High Street, Stroud came into the collection when it closed in June 1989. This could suggest that the late 1980s was the end of an era for local cobblers.

Before the late 19th century shoes were crafted by hand from natural materials, which made them expensive but also durable. Shoes were worn for many years, were well maintained by the wearer and sent to the cobblers to be repaired when needed. The industrial revolution brought the mass production of shoes in factories. Since the mid-20th century shoes have been made increasingly from synthetic materials, made to follow fashion trends and not built to last or be repairable.

Today around a third of shoe materials in the world are polymers such as PVC, which can take 1000 years to decompose, leaching toxic chemicals as they do. By comparison cotton takes around 6 months to decompose while leather takes 20 to 40 years. There are recycling schemes for shoes, shops in Stroud take shoes for recycling. But modern shoes are difficult to recycle because they contain so many different materials. Of the 24.2 billion pairs of shoes made in the world each year the majority still end up in landfill or an incinerator.

Some shoe brands are working to make more sustainable shoes, built to last longer, be repairable and at the end of life more recyclable. Meanwhile the practice of shoe repair continues in shops and now online. A surprising number of things can be repaired and at a cost less than buying a new pair of shoes.

1987.102/4, 1987.106/1, 1987.106/2 and 1987.107/1