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Crown Northampton

A Crown Northampton maker's tattooed hands holding a tan leather penny loafer on a yellow plastic last against the jaws of a lasting machine

Crown Northampton is the flagship of a Woodford family business that began in 1908 as Earnest Woodford & Son. Five generations on, it is run by Managing Director Chris Woodford, Earnest's great-great-grandson, who says he trained for about 25 years and built links with shops in Japan that helped shape the brand's design. The Crown name had to be cleared with Buckingham Palace, and its branding borrows from the coat of arms and rose of Northampton and Northamptonshire. Every pair is handmade to order in the company's Northampton factory, with nothing outsourced overseas, so each one takes several weeks.

Boots

Shown here is the Woodford Desert Boot, which Crown lists as handmade in Northampton.

Crown Northampton Woodford desert boot in Horween No. 8 Chromexcel leather with a toffee crepe sole, side view
Woodford Desert Boot

£300–£449

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Shoes

Shown here are the Overstone Derby, a low-top trainer, alongside the Talbot Oxford Shoe, the Grove Desert Shoe and the Ashby Unlined Loafer. Crown lists the Overstone as handmade to order in Northampton, and says all of its footwear is handmade to order at its factory there.

Crown Northampton Overstone Derby low-top sneaker in all-white calf leather with white laces and a white stitched cupsole, side view
Overstone Derby

£250–£399

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Crown Northampton Talbot five-eyelet oxford shoe in black leather with black laces and a thin black soft sole, side view
Talbot Oxford Shoe

£150–£249

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Crown Northampton Grove desert shoe in sand suede with four-eyelet lacing and a natural crepe stitchdown sole, side view
Grove Desert Shoe

£250–£399

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