Founded in 1847, by Matthew and Rebecca Wildsmith, they opened their first shop above a small coaching inn, off London’s Piccadilly, making and repairing boots for the Household Cavalry. Since these early beginnings, Wildsmith have made shoes for Kings, Princes and Presidents - notably King George Vl, Prince Charles and John F Kennedy - Lords and Generals, entertainment legends such as David Niven, Cary Grant and Adam Faith.

The company moved to Duke Street in 1948, then again to Princes arcade in the late Sixties. It was around this time that the company gained a wider international reputation, as John Wildsmith travelled the world with a team of tailors and shirt makers, who eventually became known simply as The Three S’s – suits, shoes and shirts.

Manufactured in Northampton, the traditional home of prestige high quality shoe making , ‘Sixty-four stitches to the inch’ was a centuries old reference to the detailed and painstaking quality that went into the shoes made by Northampton cordwainers.