# CWS Boot & Shoe (Wheatsheaf Works), Leicester - 2013



## Goldie87 (Nov 11, 2013)

Boots and shoes were already a staple item in Co-operative stores, and in 1872 CWS established a separate footwear buying department to supply them. In addition, in 1873 CWS opened its second factory, which began producing boots and shoes at its works in Duns Lane, Leicester. By November 1873 there were 100 employees working there. CWS footwear production expanded quickly and in 1891 it opened an additional works in Leicester ‘Wheatsheaf Works’, named after the CWS trademark symbol. It was extended in 1900 and was once the largest footwear factory in the world. 

In later years the original building was used by the co-op footwear retailer 'Shoefayre', with the upper floors being used as offices for various Leicester/Midlands Co-op departments. I can't find much info on when they moved out, but the remaining notices and calendars upstairs were from 1997. Today houses have been built on the site of the singe storey extension, while the rest of the buildings are undergoing conversion to houses and flats. The buildings have suffered more recently at the hands of pikeys and airsofters, going downhill pretty quickly over the past few years. 

Visited on various occasions with jacquesj, MD, Mr Carrot, Dangerous Dann, waynezbitz1 & Boothy.


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## MD (Nov 11, 2013)

ill tag some on the end if thats ok, well im going to anyway lol


It had been a shoe factory called the CWS Wheatsheaf Works in peace-time, and was one of the biggest Boot and Shoe factories in England. But for wartime purposes it had been converted to manufacturing ammunition (in the basement), and other munitions or war materials on the upstairs floors
i first visited back in 2009, now development has started and scaffold has appeared on the clock tower so it was time for a revisit, time and airsofters haven't been kind to the place.. 

2009



beautiful sky by M D Allen, on Flickr

2009 



office by M D Allen, on Flickr

2009



clock workings by M D Allen, on Flickr

2009



another factory floor by M D Allen, on Flickr

2013



fire-exit by M D Allen, on Flickr

2013



windows by M D Allen, on Flickr


2013



top by M D Allen, on Flickr

2013



turret by M D Allen, on Flickr


2013



rear-and-right by M D Allen, on Flickr

clock restored plate 



photo1 by M D Allen, on Flickr

we found this tacked to the ceiling an old shoe box lining 



photo by M D Allen, on Flickr

nice to see the old place again but i can't see how it cost 8K to get the clock running again as only two faces work, but i suppose its better than nothing


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## Stealthstar79 (Nov 11, 2013)

Love this building!
Nearly visited a few times, wish I had!
Fab pics both of you..


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## Lightbuoy (Nov 11, 2013)

Beautiful Building & beautiful photos to compliment -nice one chaps!


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## smiler (Nov 11, 2013)

I wish this was closer so I could take look around but your pics gave me a fair idea of what’s there and the size of the site so My Thanks to you Both I enjoyed looking.


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## flyboys90 (Nov 11, 2013)

Great features the bell is a beaut!


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## skankypants (Nov 11, 2013)

Cracking pics both....nicely done..


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## krela (Nov 11, 2013)

Presumably it cost 8k in the same way councils claim it takes £23k to remove a bit of graffiti from a wall... when it's removed by some fat bloke in a council van getting paid minimum wage to blast it with a high pressure hose for 15 minutes...


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## UrbanX (Nov 11, 2013)

Wow, that's awesome! Quite different from when I went many years ago! 
Loving the night time shots!


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## The Wombat (Nov 11, 2013)

Yes, good photos guys


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## Anythn (Nov 13, 2013)

Live fairly close to this, great explore! I was deterred by the 'k9 security' notices, though.


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## TeeJF (Nov 13, 2013)

Wow! That bell is really special!!!


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## Dirus_Strictus (Nov 13, 2013)

krela said:


> Presumably it cost 8k in the same way councils claim it takes £23k to remove a bit of graffiti from a wall... when it's removed by some fat bloke in a council van getting paid minimum wage to blast it with a high pressure hose for 15 minutes...



Eight grand is small beer when it comes to restoring large clocks in towers! Outside access to the faces can cost thousands before any repairs are instigated, and restoration of the rusted and worn mechanisms only adds to the bill. N. Ball and Son had to restore the clock in 1945 - during those 45 years the clock was housed in a well maintained building, thus restoration was to repair normal 'wear and tear'. However during the later years of the clock's life, the building's maintenance started to suffer and this would have had a disastrous effect on the condition of the clock mechanism and subsequent modern day repair costs. I have always had an interest in large clocks as both my grandfather and great grandfather were clock makers/repairers.

In the last eight years I have been involved in the restoration of two Victorian stable yard clocks - simple single faced examples of the clockmakers art. If we had been forced to convert projected hours of work into £'s, the clocks would have ended in the scrap furnaces because the owners were working to very tight budgets that the roofs of the main buildings were just eating up!


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## beary (Dec 4, 2013)

The clockwork and the clock is beautiful! great find!


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