A typical display of boots in J Kidd's window
The latest shop to get a new look as part of the re-development of our Victorian Street, Kirkgate, is J Kidd, the boot maker, writes Gwendolen Whitaker, Curator of History.
Again we have used research to make sure each shop we complete is based on a real Victorian York business. Look out for more blog posts, or visit the museum over the next few months, to see them taking shape.
The shop window of J Kidd, bootmaker
James Kidd was born in 1841 and grew up in rural Melbourne, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. His mother was a dressmaker.
As a young man James moved to Wheldrake, a village on the outskirts of York. He married Amelia in 1865 and lived with his in-laws who were agricultural labourers.
A pair of children's boots in the shop window
Two of the couple’s children were born in Wheldrake, and they went on to have five children although two girls died young. In the 1870s the family moved to York and James set up as a boot maker. He was to stay in business for over 30 years, with his sons as apprentices and later boot makers in their own right.
The business was located on Wellington St, close to the family home and the work of his daughter, Elizabeth, who was a housemaid at a private lunatic asylum.
An advert for another boot and shoe business in York
Another boot shop in York used cautionary verse in its advertisement...
There were very many boot and shoe shops in York. In 1896 there were 137 listed in the Trade Directories. The majority were York-based with a clog maker in the Little Shambles.
Boot makers who advertised showed that there was a huge product range, from Boots & Shoes Made Without Stitches to French imported silk and satin shoes.
Boot makers like James, working on the streets where people lived, were as important as the corner grocer, somewhere to go for a quick cheap repair of an expensive, essential commodity.
This advert for a corn 'cure' shows the need for a good pair of boots!
Your comment