Prince of Wales visits Crockett & Jones factory

HRH The Prince of Wales has made an historic visit to the Crockett & Jones factory in Northampton. This took place during a two-day tour around the United Kingdom to celebrate and champion British manufacturing and engineering, and to highlight the importance of encouraging young people to enter industry. The occasion was the first time the company had welcomed a member of the Royal family since HRH The Duke of York, who later became King George VI (Prince Charles’ grandfather), visited in 1924.

When Prince Charles arrived at Crockett & Jones, the Lord Lieutenant of Northampton introduced him to company Managing Director, Jonathan Jones and Nick Jones (production director). Then, after meeting members of the senior management team and office staff, The Prince was given a factory tour.

Starting in the clicking room, Prince Charles discussed quality control and leather issues with supervisor Ray Fletcher, who has over 40 years of service with Crockett & Jones. The Prince then learned about the running of a clicking room when he met coordinators David Mains and Richard Atterbury, and trainee clicker Ben Hillyard. Prince Charles moved onto the closing room that currently has 104 members of staff, where he spent some time speaking to a number of operatives.

The conclusion of his tour took The Prince into the making room, where he spoke at length with Toe Laster Fred Hamp and Trainee Toe Laster Andrew Love. Prince Charles remarked that he was pleased to see the soon-to-retire, Fred passing on his years of experience to new recruit Andrew.

Once the factory tour had ended, The Prince, Jonathan and Nick made their way back to the showroom where Jonathan Jones and Michael Ellis, Member of Parliament for Northampton North, presented Prince Charles with some black calf Tetbury boots as a gift for his sons HRH Prince William and HRH Prince Harry. These are the boots that were recently worn by actor Daniel Craig in the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.

The Prince was then invited to a private fitting, at which he chose a classic punch cap Oxford, Belgrave shoe in dark brown burnished calf, but decided to change the last to better suit his tastes. General Manager of Retail, Steve Murdoch, dealt with the fitting on the day. As Prince Charles left, the entire Crockett & Jones workforce spilled onto the street outside the factory to wave him off.

Photograph shows HRH Prince Charles in the Crockett & Jones closing room, with Company Managing Director, Jonathan Jones (centre) and Nick Jones (production director).

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 8 of the March 2013 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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