Boot and shoemaking is an industry traditionally associated with Northamptonshire, but by no means the only one. Cotton-spinning, brewing and quarrying are just some of the aspects of the local economy that readers can also find mentioned below.
Until the 19th century, agriculture was a major component in the economy of Northamptonshire. Resources relating to that subject are set out on our Agriculture and gardening page.
- A Family of Stone-Carvers,The Coxes of Northamptonshire by Shelagh M Lewis [1953] (page 19)
- A Midlands Horse Fair at Boughton Green, 1627 by R Forder Denington [1969] (page 235)
- A Nineteenth Century Welsh Cattle Dealer in Northamptonshire by R J Colyer [1974] (page 121) Evidence from account books of the activities of the Johnathon family of Dihewlyd, Cardiganshire.
- A sequel to the shoe industry dispute of 1887 by J M Swann
- Aristocratic Financial Troubles and the Operation of the Land Market: The Sale of Astwell and Falcutt in 1774-8 by J V Beckett [1993] (page 378)
- 'Blaze' at Long Buckby by Victor A Hatley [1967] (page 91) describes the history of woolcombing in that locality.
- Boat Families of the Grand Junction Canal This site includes much material about the history of the Canal and the people who lived and worked on it. There are numerous references to individuals and their family relationships.
- Boot and Shoe Making in Northamptonshire [2024]
- Brewing in Northamptonshire by Alaric Neville [2025] The videos featured in the link include a talk about the history of brewing focussing on Northamptonshire and the Phipps and Manning brewing families.
- Butter to London from Northamptonshire, 1782 by Victor A Hatley (1989] (page 33)
- Charnwood slate gravestones as evidence for trade routes (page 92) This is Appendix Two of 'Conversations in Churchyards' by R N Trubshaw [2025]. It includes insights from extensive research by David Ramsey into the Charnwood slate quarries.
- Charles I and the Revival of Forest Law by Philip Petitt [1961] (page 54)
- Child Workers in the Victorian Countryside: The Case of Northamptonshire by Pamela Horn [1985] (page 173)
- Coming of Age: Twenty-one Years of the Fenland Lighter Project by H J K Jenkins [2007] (page 78)
- Co-operation by Mike Stroud History of Desborough Industrial and Provident Co-operative Society from 1863 to 1914.
- Cotton-spinning in Northampton: Edward Cave's Mill, 1742-1761 by David L Bates [1996] (page 237)
- Cotton-Spinning in Northampton: The Gibson & Forbes Mill, 1785-1806 by David L Bates [1998] (page 57)
- Desborough Industrial & Provident Co-operative Society Ltd. Jubilee Souvenir: 1863-1913 by R M Sanders, Chris Marlow & Jesse Marlow [1913]
- Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities 1550-1820 Explains nearly 4,000 terms found in documents relating to trade and retail. Useful for understanding wills and inventories as well as for economic history.
- Domestic Service in Northamptonshire, 1830-1914 by Pamela Horn [1975] (page 267)
- Gleaning Description of practices in the county when the poor were allowed into the fields to collect the post-harvest residue.
- Grace's Guide to British Industrial History includes a large quantity of information and images about early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them. Searches of the site for a sample of places in Northamptonshire produced 738 hits for Northampton, 430 Peterborough, 278 Kettering & 124 Wellingborough.
- James Gribble and the Raunds Strike of 1905 by Keith Brooker [1981] (page 275)
- John Clendon's Tithe Book by Margaret Forrest [1999] (page 32)
- Labour force participation The 'Economies Past' site enables comparison between labour force participation rates across England and Wales. By visiting the map and zooming into Northamptonshire, information can be found down to parish level for each census year from 1851 to 1911 and filtered by occupation categories.
- Labourers and Allotments in Nineteenth-century Northamptonshire (Part 1) [2011] (page 89)
- Labourers and Allotments in Nineteenth-Century Northamptonshire (Part 2, 1873-1900) by R L Greenhall [2012] (page 62)
- Locks, Lords and Coal: A Study in Eighteenth Century Northampton History by Victor A Hatley [1980] (page 207) Account of the role of elites and the importance of coal supply in improving water-bourn access to Northampton.
- Male occupational structure in Northamptonshire 1777-1851: A case of partial de-industrialisation by Leigh Shaw-Taylor & Amanda Jones [2005] (page 47)
- Medieval Markets in Northamptonshire by Peter Goodfellow [1987] (page 305)
- Monsters in Campbell Square by Victor A Hatley [1966] (page 51) The early history of the industrial buildings on the south side of Campbell Square that were originally occupied by Moses P Mansfield and by Isaac, Campbell & Co.
- Monuments by the Cox family by Bruce A Bailey [1962] (page 115)
- Northampton's First Steam Engine: An Early Case of Environmental Pollution by David Bates [1992] (page 297) The installation in 1797-8 of a Boulton & Paul engine to power a cotton-spinning mill.
- Northamptonshire Badgers or Higlers Documents dating from c.1694 and c.1740 about the regulation of men entitled to ply as jobbers, higlers or badgers.
- Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences 1689-1932 (£) Searchable index of licences granted for nonconformist chapels and to badgers & higglers and gamekeepers.
- Open for business: textile manufacture in Northamptonshire, c.1685-1800 by Wendy Raybould [2005]
- Rates for carriage of goods, 1743 Charges authorised by the magistrates for the carriage of goods between London and 12 different places in Northamptonshire.
- Recollections of William Arnold edited by Keith Brooker [2014] Reminiscences of a notable footware manufacturer with an introduction by the editor.
- Rural Society in the Manor Courts of Northamptonshire, 1350-1500 by Michael John Thornton [2004]
- Sale of Horses at Leicester, 1598 by R Forder Dennington [1970] (page 268)
- Self-Help at Northampton, 1851 by V A Hatley [1976] (page 308) Foundation of Northampton Town & County Freehold Land Society.
- Sheep bill of Sir John Spencer, 1580
- Small Town Industry by Mike Stroud The development of industry at Desborough focusing on the non-Co-operative sector.
- Stanley Beaver's Study of Northamptonshire Ironstone Quarries in 1930 by Peter R Mounfield and David Turnock [1991] (page 227)
- Textile Manufacturing in Eighteenth-Century Northamptonshire by Wendy Raybould [2015] (page 31)
- The English Pillow Lace Industry: A Study of a Rural Industry in Competition During the Nineteenth Century by Geoffrey Frederick Robert Spenceley [1974] This thesis includes much material about the history of lacemaking in Northamptonshire.
- The Evenley Strike in 1867 by Pamela Horn [1966] (age 47) A strike by agricultural labourers.
- The History of Boot and Shoemaking at Long Buckby by R L Greenall [1977] (page 437)
- The importance of Northamptonshire’s reservoirs by Jack Rodney Laundon [2006] (page 73)
- The Kettering Worsted Industry of the Eighteenth Century by Adran Randall [1970] (page 313)
- The Kettering Worsted Industry in the Eighteenth Century by Adrian Randall [1971] (page 349)
- The London Accounts of Juliana, Lady Langham, 1774-1794 by Judith Hodgkinson [2009] (page 45)
- The Northampton Arbitration Board and the Shoe Industry Dispute of 1887 by Jeffrey H Porter [1968] (page 149)
- The Northampton Boot and Shoe Arbitration Board Before 1914 by J H Porter [1979] (page 93)
- The Northampton Shoemakers' Reaction to Industrialisation: Some Thoughts by Keith Brooker [1980] (page 151)
- The Occupational and Organizational Structures of the Northamptonshire Worsted and Shoemaking Trades, c.1750-1821 by Keith Sugden [2011]
- The Origins of Engineering in Peterborough: The Queen Street Iron Works by Richard Hiller [1979] (page 101)
- The Probate Inventory of an Early Seventeenth Century Northampton Mercer and Linen Draper by Mona C Harrison [1982] (page 313) Compiled after the death in 1625 of Edward Collis, this provides detailed descriptions and calculations for business and domestic items with a total valuation of over £850.
- The Records of Rothwell Horse Fair 1684-1744 by R F Denington [1982] (page 319)
- The Rise of Industrial Kettering by R L Greenall [1975] (page 253)
- The Rush Industry of Islip by Mary M Humphries [1980] (page 223)
- The Small Landholder in Northamptonshire: Corby c.1700-1850 by Richard Moore-Colyer [1999] (page 57)
- The transformation of the small master economy in the boot and shoe industry 1887-1914 : with special reference to Northampton by Keith Barry Brooker [1986]
- The Wakerley Calciner Furnaces by Jack Rodney Laundon [2008] (page 86)
- The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch with a preface by H J Habakkuk [1956] The families involved are Isham of Lamport, Spencer of Althorp, Tresham of Rushton, Fitzwilliam of Milton and Brudenell of Deene.
- Two Village Entrepreneurs in Late-Medieval Rockingham Forest by M J Thornton [2005] (page 17)
- Value of farm produce and labour, 1688-90 Extracts from accounts of the real and personal estate of Randolph Wickes of Haselbech and Cold Ashby.
- Wages in 1688 Wages rates for 39 occupations and activities as set at the Quarter Sessions.
- Woad-Growing in Northamptonshire by Vivien Billington [2000] (page 59)
- What kind of Brewer? by Andrew P Wood [2005] (page 81)
- Wind and Watermills of Northamptonshire by Trevor Stainwright [2025]
- Woods and Woodland Management: The Bailiwick of Rockingham, Northamptonshire c.1700-1840 by R Moore-Colyer [1996] (page 253)