Rushden Museum to show off town's shoe industry with 'Lasting Legacy' exhibition this spring

Rushden Museum has announced plans for its upcoming 2023 exhibition, dedicating it to the impressive shoe industry and how the town has contributed to it.

Opening on May 13, one week late due to the Coronation of King Charles III, the ‘Lasting Legacy’ exhibition will be on display until the museum closes for the year on October 29.

Rushden Museum chairman Peter Field said: “Rushden has grown so much over recent years with a lot of newcomers and new industries, and many people may not realise the importance of the footwear industry to the town.”

Shoemaking has always been synonymous with Northampton, with the football team proudly wielding the ‘Cobblers’ nickname because of it.

However, shoes and boots are weaved into the fabric of plenty of Northamptonshire spots, from Doc Martens being made in Wollaston since 1960 to Barker’s shoe factory in Station Road, Earls Barton.

The same can be said of Rushden, as much of the town’s architecture and culture relies on the lasting impact of the shoe and boot industry. It transformed Rushden in the 19th century from a small rural settlement with outlying farms to a bustling town with rows of terraced houses, a fire station, council offices, and shoe factories littering the land.

The exhibition in Hall Park will look to recognise and celebrate the cultural impact that the industry has had, further cementing Rushden’s legacy as a major factor in Northamptonshire’s most iconic industry.

More information about the exhibition and what it will entail can be found here.