Welcome
We invite you to enter the elite world of Henry Maxwell, a thoroughbred symbol of peerless British craftsmanship.
The timeless appeal of our top quality leatherwork has brought the countryside to Town and Town sophistication to the country for over 270 years, the Maxwell name alone identifying a cadre who appreciate genuine authenticity, heritage and style.
Bespoke Shoes and Boots
For those who genuinely want the very best, only a bespoke pair of shoes or boots will do. These are entirely hand crafted from the very finest materials, and are made to last a lifetime.
Maxwell boots are legendary, becoming a generic name for riding boots, so “Putting on my Maxwells” means “getting booted”.
London’s favourite since 1750
Based in Mayfair and St. James’s for over 250 years, we have always been close to London’s sophistication and style, but Henry Maxwell’s heart is also in the country. Our House style has therefore been confidently conservative, evoking the outdoor life of the country estate, Royal Ascot, The Derby, Polo, and the great Outdoors.
Our History
1750-1800
Jacobite Rebellion 1745
Royal Worcester porcelain founded 1751
Jacobite Rebellion 1745
Henry Maxwell begins as a spur maker in 1750 in his home town of Worcester.
Maxwell moves to London’s Pall Mall in 1756, close to the Royal patronage of St James’s Palace.
1801-1850
Napoleonic Wars.
Battle of Waterloo 1812
Napoleonic Wars.
Henry Maxwell Jnr. transforms the experience of wearing spurs by inventing his “Spur Box” in 1814. A tongue on the inside of a new Maxwell spur clicked into a socket in the heel of the boot, holding the spur firmly and making the fitting much faster. Our design was eventually adopted by every European army.
Maxwell receives his first Royal Warrant from King George IV in 1823, and patented an improved spur box in 1828.
1851-1900
With the Royal family setting the standard for how the upper classes dressed, and military dress style being very influential, Maxwell prospers and moves to 161 Piccadilly, St. James’s, currently occupied by The Caviar House. Maxwell exhibits his World beating products at the Great Exhibition in Crystal palace in 1851, the London Exhibition of Fine Arts, Industry and Inventions in 1873 and in 1874.
1900-1950
The Great War,
The Great Depression and WW II
The Great War,
Maxwell exhibits at the Paris Exhibition in 1900 and the Earl’s Court Military exhibition in 1901.
By 1909 the Company is listed as “Henry Maxwell & Comp’y, Spurriers, Whip and Boot Makers”, with a long list of royal customers and a thriving trade. Maxwells acquires Royal bootmakers Wm. Faulkner & Son, and by 1920 bespoke boot and shoe making becomes the primary activity. By mid-century we are the undisputed leaders in equestrian boot making and bespoke gentlemen’s shoes.
The British Empire is now at its zenith, and London is the heart of its diplomatic, political, commercial and social life. London sets the tone; London sets the fashion, and Maxwell sets the standards for military and equestrian footwear.
We move from 161 Piccadilly to 8 Dover Street, Mayfair, now the flagship store for Aston Martin, and set up a Paris office at 26 rue Marbeuf. This is now Maison Berluti’s flagship store.
The business expands further into a wide range of equestrian and leather goods and its shoemakers travel extensively, trading on all 5 continents.
Technological leadership and shrewd business management propel Maxwell to the pinnacle of English men’s style.
1951-2000
Post war expansion and growth of cinema, media and international travel.
Post war expansion and growth of cinema, media and international travel.
Royal Warrants are granted by the Prince of Wales, George VI and Queen Elizabeth II and many others. Media stars, industrialists and public leaders flock to Dover Street.
Maxwell acquires royal Bootmakers Tom Hill of Knightsbridge in 1966, and in 1972 ownership passes from the Maxwell family to the distinguished Savile Row tailors H. Huntsman & Sons Ltd
2001-2023
The new Millennium.
Maxwells move to 177 New Bond Street, now the home of Cartier, and then in 2002 to 83 Jermyn Street, the epicentre of Gentlemen’s London, trading alongside sister company WS Foster & Son Limited. The Company has remained under its current private ownership since 2006.
Our Notable Customers
With Royal Warrants from every British Monarch from George IV in 1826 to Queen Elizabeth II, Henry Maxwell’s reputation has drawn in statesmen and women, business leaders, and customers from the creative industries, academia, the sciences and industry. Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer and Bing Crosby were typically faithful customers, and Ben Hogan had us design an extra spike to his shoes, to help keep him down through his swing.
Other eminent patrons included Princess Anne The Princess Royal, the Sultan of Brunei, the Emperor Hirohito, Charles Chaplin, Fred Astaire, Cecil B. de Mille, Carlton Heston and Cary Grant, Jeremy Hackett and Manolo Blahnik.
Henry Maxwell
Charlie Chaplin
Queen Victoria
Cary Grant
Montgomery
Sultan of Brunei
Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Michael
King George VI
King George V
King Edward VII
Jude Law
Emperor Akihito
Clark Gable
Charlton Heston
Evelyn de Rothschild
George Soros
Glenn Dubin
Jeremy Hackett
Jerry Weintraub
Neil Tennant
Norman Foster
Oscar Peterson
Sam Snead
Ron Perelman
Yehudi Menuhin
Why are bespoke shoes and boots special?
Making bespoke boots and shoes is a highly skilled craft. An efficient shoe factory can produce 8,000 pairs a day, and a top quality factory 500 pairs, but a bespoke workshop might produce one or two pairs, and boots take twice as long. So a unique pair commands a higher price, varying from £5,000-10,000.
If you are a bespoke aficionado, this investment will be no barrier for a number of reasons:
- The finished article is uniquely made to your specifications. In the case of equestrian and ceremonial footwear, the design will be absolutely correct.
- Wearing them is a pleasure you don’t get with factory made footwear.
- The human hand can produce beautiful shapes not achieved by machine.
- Natural materials can last a lifetime and be passed down generations, unlike so many fashion items that end up as landfill.
- Your close relationship with your shoemaker connects with a centuries old craft tradition.
Ordering bespoke requires patience. The craftsmen and women will want to give you many years of pleasure and comfort, and each project begins with measuring your feet, and discussing the style, materials and specifications.
With the project agreed, the last-maker fashions your personal last on which the boot or shoe will be made, carving it out of a block of beechwood. From the three-dimensional last the pattern cutter then cuts out flat paper pattern for each component, and a “clicker” cuts out the upper leather parts using the patterns as a template.
The uppers are then stitched together, or “closed”, ready to be attached to the sole.
The shoe-maker nails the inner sole to the last and then stretches the upper over the last and attaches it to the inner sole together with a leather strip called the Welt, to which the the outer sole is stitched. This is entirely manual work, with every stitch hand sewn by an expert maker with needle and thread.
Once the sole and heel are attached and all excess leather carefully trimmed away, the finished article is polished by hand, this alone often taking up to a day’s work.
In the case of bespoke long boots, the shape of your legs is also vital and the boot trees themselves become a part of making the process as well as keeping them in the correct shape after use. For this purpose, we invented a measuring form!
Henry Maxwell Limited
Registered in England and Wales No. 3727763
Email: admin@henrymaxwell.com
Phone:
+44 1306 712 650
+44 7768 081 070