Shoemaker · Northampton · Founded 1879
Crockett & Jones
Crockett & Jones is a family-owned Northampton shoemaker whose wide range runs from standard well-made shoes to a much more finely finished premium line.
Crockett & Jones has made shoes in Northampton since 1879 and remains family-owned. Its range spans the Benchgrade line (the standard English welted shoe, made in quantity) and the Handgrade line, finished to a considerably higher standard. Few makers cover as much ground competently.
Two lines, one factory
The Benchgrade range is what most people mean by an English shoe: Goodyear-welted, well-lasted, durable, resoleable, and priced within reach. The Handgrade range uses better leathers, closer waists and more hand finishing, and competes with makers charging considerably more. Both are made in the same Northampton factory. The distinction is specification and hours, not location or construction.
The lasts
As with the other Northampton makers, the last decides both fit and appearance, and the house numbers them: the 348 is a rounded, accommodating shape; the 337 is longer and more elegant; the 341 is a chisel toe. The same size fits differently across them.
The range's breadth is a genuine advantage here: a customer whose foot does not suit one shape can usually find another in the same catalogue rather than changing maker.
Benchgrade or Handgrade
The construction is the same in both: Goodyear-welted, leather-lined, leather-soled. What the Handgrade line adds is better hides, a closer-trimmed waist, more hand finishing on the edges and sole, and lasts with more shape. It is roughly two-thirds more expensive.
For a first serious pair, Benchgrade is the sensible purchase and will outlast several cheaper shoes. The Handgrade argument becomes stronger once someone owns three or four pairs and starts noticing the differences.
The record
What it costs
Prices across the site →These are not quotations. Prices below are the most recent figures we could attribute to a source, shown in the currency they were published in.
| What | Service | Price | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchgrade ready-to-wear shoeAn indicative band, not a quotation. Bespoke entry prices normally exclude tax and cloth beyond the house bunch, and houses raise them without announcement. | Ready To Wear | £450–620 | September 2026 |
| Handgrade ready-to-wear shoeAn indicative band, not a quotation. Bespoke entry prices normally exclude tax and cloth beyond the house bunch, and houses raise them without announcement. | Ready To Wear | £750–1,100 | September 2026 |
Houses often considered alongside it
Grouped because they compete for the same commission or work in a comparable idiom: not a ranking, and not an equivalence.
01
Edward Green
Edward Green is a Northampton shoemaker, around since 1890, making top-tier off-the-shelf shoes with far more hand shaping and finishing than most factory shoes.
02
Church's
Church's is the best-known English shoe brand, owned by Prada since 1999, and quality now varies across its range, so the name alone guarantees less.
03
Carmina
Mallorcan Goodyear-welted shoes at a price that reset expectations for the category.
04
Alden
New England's surviving welted shoemaker, and the house most associated with shell cordovan.
05
Tricker's
Tricker's is the oldest surviving shoemaker in Northampton, best known for heavy country boots like the Stow brogue boot with its thick, chunky sole.
Set side by side
Picture credits 6
- Crockett & Jones men's dress shoes, type Dalton, black calf leather 02: Photograph · OlafJanssen · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Church's Works in St James Northampton: Photograph · Cj1340 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tienda carmina: Photograph · carmina shoemaker · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Trickers, Jermyn Street, London: Photograph · Philafrenzy · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0