John Lobb

Unable to follow his father's farmwork occupation after an accident left him with a lifelong limp, John served a five-year apprenticeship with a local shoemaker.

Seeking a greater stage for his skills, he walked the almost 250 miles (400 km) to St James's in London, in a stout pair of boots of his own making, only to be ejected from the premises of the best-known society bootmaker, when he demanded to see the proprietor, Mr Thomas.

In 1862, John Lobb, in collaboration with local tanner Alderson & Sons, and with Cassull as lead bootmaker, produced a pair of polished leather riding boots that won the Prize Medal at the 1862 International Exhibition.

[1] John Lobb junior was banished from the family by his father for dishonesty, married a chorus girl and retired to Margate, where he was discreetly supported by his brother.

William Hunter Lobb (1870–1916) trained as a bootmaker, oversaw the expanding business, opening a shop in Paris in 1901 and a second unsuccessful premises in Regent Street in 1904.