K Shoes mystery find

9:54am Friday 28th March 2008

THE mystery surrounding a number of wooden shapes, unearthed by builders on the former K Shoes site in Kendal, has finally been explained after a spot of detective work.

Last spring, as the demolition of the Netherfield factory neared conclusion, workers from the firm L & W Wilson found 47 dust-covered pieces of wood under the floorboards of the original building.

Smoothly carved and shaped like very thin shoe lasts but with one sharp edge, the finds both fascinated and bemused those connected to the former shoe-making factory and were immediately set aside as ideal exhibits for a K Shoes heritage centre, which is set to open when the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Lound Road site is completed.

After contacting experts, and unearthing a catalogue produced by the famous footwear factory in the 19th century, the team behind the heritage plans has been able to date the shapes to the late 1800s, as well as place their purpose.

Mandy Dixon, manager of K Village Centre - which has made its temporary home at Stricklandgate - said: "I was on site to witness the last day of demolition and was called over by the contractor to look at these unusual wooden objects which the men had found under the floorboards immediately outside where my office had been.

"I didn't know what they were but recognised their importance to the jigsaw of information being collated for the new heritage centre that is going to be on the new site, and we rescued them so they could be restored and investigated."

Jonathan Somervell, a member of the K Shoes founding family, added: "The shapes had obviously lain undisturbed for a very long time. It was puzzling because no one knew what they were or how long they had been there."

He described how the pieces of wood, which formed five different shapes, had clusters of nail holes in specific areas. Puzzled, he trawled through the K Shoes archives and found a passage in a book written by his great uncle, John Somervell, which described a technique used in the 1870s to cut and shape leather.

"Basically you roughly cut the leather to shape before dunking it in a bucket of water for several minutes, and nailing it to the blocks and leaving them overnight to mould permanently to the required shape. The leather would then be trimmed to the right size and stitched," said Mr Somervell, who himself has spent several hours trying out the technique on some of the wooden shapes.

"For an elegant, close fit to the calves of a dashing cavalry officer, the leather would have to be moulded or blocked' to shape them to the curves of the foot. The process is still done today by a few bespoke makers of jockey and other high quality boots although, in most cases, machines have replaced the pincers and nails," he added.

Tim Batten, of the Northamptonshire-based boot-makers, Horace Batten Limited, confirmed the shapes would have been used in such a way. He believed they dated back to between the 1880s and 1900 and said they would have been "knocked up" on site by one of the joiners at Netherfield, as and when they were needed.

"Quite why they were stored away under the floorboards and forgotten we can now only guess!" added Mr Somervell.

Editor's Choice