5a & 7, Crabb Street

This is a boot and shoe factory, later used as offices and a dwelling, dating from approximately 1890. It is constructed of red brick with blue brick detailing and a slate hipped roof. The main three-storey and basement range is accompanied by a lower two-storey range, part of which has a basement. The south side features entrance and taking-in doors. The front elevation has three storeys with cast-iron framed windows on each floor, positioned either side of a taking-in door; the uppermost window includes a crane and hoist beam. The ground floor incorporates a door to the right and blocked windows to the left, with all openings featuring brick segmental arches. The right side of the main range, facing Crabb Street, is similar in design and includes six cast-iron framed windows on each floor. A distinctive feature is the blue brick band that runs around the building on each floor, situated above the segmental arches. A prominent moulded brick eaves cornice is also present. The left side mirrors this design on the top floor, and is adjoined by an extension dating from around 1900. A narrow, two-window, two-storey range with a basement, originally a privy tower, stands to the left, distinguished by its curving parapet. Adjacent to this is a two-storey office range, containing a door sheltered by a bracketed hood, two carriage openings, an alleyway, and three 20th-century windows inserted into original openings, with a smaller window with hoodmould above the entrance door. Further buildings are located in the yard to the rear. Internally, cast-iron columns support timber ceiling beams on the lower floors, and the roof is constructed with queen-post trusses. The complex likely began as a typical boot and shoe factory, evolving by the 1960s and 1970s into a more specialized slipper factory. The complex is a well-preserved example of a late 19th-century factory, retaining much of its character following a recent, sensitive conversion. It forms a visual group with Cunnington Bros. further up the street, and when viewed alongside the significantly larger Cromwell Works, represents a key cluster of boot and shoe factories that demonstrate Rushden’s growth spurred by a thriving boot and shoe industry.