Dr Martens - Wheelock Place

Dr. Martens air-cushioned sole, designed by German inventor, Dr. Klaus Maertens, was engineered to meet the specific need of providing additional support and comfort for a broken foot. The Dr. Martens boot, manufactured by R Griggs and Co, British boot makers, with its trademark yellow stitch, grooved sole and heel-loop, was a boot for workers; comfortable, durable and lightweight in comparison to its competitors at the time.

Initially worn by postmen, policemen and everyday workers, the boots were adopted, customised and used as a tribal emblem by successive subcultures, decade after decade. And over the past 50 years Dr. Martens boots and shoes haven't changed. The original boot and shoes are still simple, versatile, functional and stylish all at the same time - yet are still associated with individuality, creativity and rebellion.

Dr. Martens continue to make the Made In England collection at the unique Cobb's Lane factory, which has been producing footwear for the Griggs family since 1901. It is the home of the original Dr. Martens boot and shoe and within these modest factory walls work a close-knit family of people steeped in traditional shoe-making methods.

In amongst the smell of freshly cut leather and the noisy backdrop of pristinely preserved machinery, the unmistakable shape of a Dr. Martens begins to form: travelling the short length of the factory floor beginning with a small pile of tanned leather hides. The process takes the boot through various highly skilled stages of evolution until its final arrival - laced up and spotless - in a box, ready for a life of being cherished. Dr. Martens - an immediately recognisable, UK product classic.