On Friday 16 June 2023 we visited Whitefriars Primary School, Rushden, to give a talk on the boot and shoe industry in the town to the year 4 children. The talk explained how shoe making had grown from a cottage industry to the large factories still to be seen all over the town, although many are now converted into apartments, and how Rushden had grown from a village to a thriving town with the influx of workers.
There were 60 children with their teachers, Mrs. Brown and Mr. West. It was a mufti day so no school uniforms.
The children were well behaved and had a few questions at the end of the talk. We also took a few items with us that the children could handle.
Some tools used in shoe making
A poster advertising the Totectors Boot. We took our Totectors boot with us for the children to see
The factory of C. W. Horrell Ltd., now converted into apartments
We would like to thank them for inviting us and we hope they enjoyed the talk. We look forward to visiting them again in the autumn.