Thrussell & Son Ltd University Bootmakers Cambridge, advertising promotional silver metal shoe horn.
Thrussell and Son Ltd, University Bootmakers Cambridge - M Bullivant Archives. A unique small, silver metal shoehorn from Thrussell’s of Cambridge who first occupied premises at 28 Sidney Street Cambridge and then for a time at 5 St Andrew’s Street Cambridge. They closed in 1971.
Cambridge Daily News - Thursday 30 December 1920 (BNA)
Cambridge Daily News - Friday 08 December 1939 (BNA)
Cambridge Daily News - Friday 01 October 1971 (BNA)
Richard Hall has kindly sent in the following recollections and pictures to add to this article:
My father worked most of his life in footwear retail. Before the war he worked for Joshua Taylors and then after the war he joined G Dewberry and Son, a bespoke shoemaker, at 44 Sidney Street. Around 1955 Dewberry’s was taken over by Thrussells at 28 Sidney Street, where he worked until they closed in 1971. He then moved to Grays Sports Shop, 36 Sidney Street, in their footwear department until he retired in 1989.
As a teenager I would visit my father in Thrussells. They had a type of X-ray machine where you could view feet inside the shoe to assess fitting. This was mostly used for children.
[added by Michelle: These machines, known as shoe-fitting fluoroscopes, were commonly used in shoe shops from the 1920s to the 1960s, allowing customers to see an X-ray image of their feet inside their shoes to check the fit, before concerns about radiation exposure led to their withdrawal.]
Most of the shoes were stored, not in shoe boxes, but in racks with hinged lids along the walls in the shop. Bespoke shoes were made from a last which was crafted by Eddie Covill to accommodate both regular and odd-shaped feet. He would then cut out the leather uppers to fit around the last. The uppers would then be stitched and bonded to the sole to make the complete shoe. My father’s role as head salesman was to meet the customers and offer any assistance they may require and hopefully sell shoes, both ready-made and bespoke.
I think there were 5 staff in all:
Eddie Covill – Manager and bespoke shoemaker.
Edward Hall – Head salesman.
Junior salesman.
Shoemaker – part-time.
Secretary – part-time.
My father thoroughly enjoyed his time working at Thrussells.
