Guest blog by Lucia Debieux- Bowhill & Elliott
This year marks a huge anniversary for one of the best slipper makers in the world, but you might be surprised to know that we are talking about one of Norwich’s finest manufacturers, Bowhill & Elliott.
When it comes to manufacturing, Norwich was famous for women’s and children’s shoes. Responsible for a huge amount of the British shoemaking output, only Northampton could rival our fine city.
But how have we continued shoemaking for more than 150 years later, we hear you cry? Read on to find out how we became a global brand attracting customers and celebrities alike from all around the world.
Bowhill & Elliott was founded when bespoke shoemaker Obadiah Henry Bowhill took an interest in existing local manufacturers Wright & Co. Already occupying our site at 65 London Street, the year is 1874 when Obadiah bought the company. He eventually passed the business on to one of his son’s, also named Obadiah and his new son-in-law Thomas Baines Elliott. Together they formed the company as it’s now known – Bowhill and Elliott.
Bowhill & Elliott continue to use traditional methods
In our early years we continued the former owners traditions of producing shoes and boots, always with particular emphasis on quality, a word often overused but rarely adhered to. The turn of the century saw us making large quantities of bespoke riding boots for army officers, two World Wars followed and then the Great Depression, yet we endured. After acquiring fellow Norwich shoemakers the Osoeasie Slipper Company in 1960, our focus switched entirely to house shoes and our legacy was born.
It was around this time that we introduced the traditional Albert Slipper, named after Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert don’t you know. Famously commissioned by him to wear inside the many royal residences. Picture this, you have come in from the hunt of the day, needing something comfortable to pad around the palace in and of course not walk the mud through the wooden floor, potentially damaging the Persian rugs. The Albert Slipper house shoe was born.
The traditional Albert Slipper has always been velvet, decadent and a sign of luxury. With a hard leather cemented sole, it can be worn as Prince Albert did as a house shoe or for evening wear with black-tie as many of our customers do. Not just for night time though, the Albert slipper is still as relevant now as it was then, as is always the case with the ‘classics’.
The Albert Slipper is named for none other than Prince Albert himself
Today our house shoes are loved by men and women alike, with all our styles unisex and available to order on two different last shapes and manufactured by hand in our small workshop.
Fast forward to the present day and Bowhill & Elliott is still a family business, with Roger Jury (Margaret Elliott’s great grandson) still very much part of the business. Marc Debieux joined in 2019 and soon after completed a management buyout, working with Roger building Bowhill & Elliott into the brand it is today. With a refurbishment of the store and a new website coming, it has been a challenging time yet we are still thriving.
Visiting us at our London street store in Norwich, is like taking a step back in time with personal service but we like to think with a modern touch. We are always happy to get the whiskey out, you might even be lucky enough to hear the grand piano being played.
The shop heralds back to an era of ‘make out the back, sell in the front’ something that we are so proud to do still to this day. The entire process, the cutting, clicking, turning and lasting is done by hand across our two work shops. Using our unique lasts that date back to the 1960’s, our shoemakers pull, tease and stretch the fine velvet, leather or linen to name a few, to form the perfect fit.
With their years of experience our 8 shoemakers are able to do this effortlessly, in this modern world of mass manufacturing, it’s something special to uphold. Our aim is the same it has always been, continue to make slippers to the best of our ability, we won’t be searching for new machinery to replace the skilled work that our shoemakers do by hand. Instead our mission is to continue to use traditional methods and deliver the Bowhill experience to our valued customers.
Bowhill & Elliott’s slippers are handmade on site
So back to our big birthday, how are we celebrating? Join us in-store on the 5th October, where we will be showcasing our brand new Anniversary collection. We have gone back to the archive and created something really special, if we do say so ourselves. You will also have the opportunity to take your golden ticket for a chance to play on our Bagatelle table plus win a pair of our finest velvet slippers.
Not just us though you’ll also find our friends, the London based bespoke tailors MacAngus & Wainwright will also be in-store with their offering.
Sign up to our members club, the 1874 here to discover more.
