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Defying time and trends since 1849, we hand craft exquisite footwear and leather goods for the discerning of the day. Using the same gentle and ancient craft of the last and awl as mastered by our founder, we create shoes that are germane to the modern world; reflecting both the times and character of the wearer.
A family business for over 170 years, today we are still driven by a singular purpose: the celebration of the unique and the original.
A lame Cornish farm boy named John Lobb, who dreams of being a shoemaker, journeys to Australia on the coattails of the gold rush after being rejected by all of the major shoemakers in London. Arriving in the Turon Region, he establishes himself in a small tent and sets about producing innovative boots for gold prospectors.
John Lobb produces a pair of riding boots for the then Prince of Wales. They are of such quality and distinction that he is awarded the firm's first Royal Warrant. Quite how John Lobb - the then Australian-based shoemaker - was able to attain the measurements of the future King; and from them fashion the much lauded pair of boots, remains a part of shoemaking legend.
Following the grant of his first Royal Warrant, international demand for John Lobb’s shoes increases and the firm moves to London, opening a shop at number 296 Regent Street and proudly displaying the Royal Warrant on its façade.
John Lobb opens a second shop at 29 St James’s Street; allowing him greater proximity to his customers, who often frequent the local gentlemen’s clubs, and the Royal Household.
With ambition to match that of his father, William Hunter Lobb opens a branch of the John Lobb business at 1 Rue du 29 Juillet in Paris to serve its customers in France. In 1976 a controlling interest in this French arm of the business only was sold, while the John Lobb brand around the rest of world continued under the ownership of the Lobb family. This endeavour would be an important milestone for the company, and the legacy of this time still exists within the DNA of the firm today.
The firm wins its 9th medal for shoemaking at the Great International Exhibition. This is added to medals previously won in the years from 1862 to 1900 in London, Paris, Vienna, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Devastation strikes. One terrible night, at the tail end of World War Two, the shop at 55 St James’s Street is destroyed. Sturdy as their boots, The Lobb’s keep calm and carry on ensuring that despite the damage, the workshop was still operational, and the team could get straight back to their craft.
The firm, now with Eric Lobb at the helm, moves to its current premises at 9 St James’s Street, which, with its large shop floor and extensive basement, makes it the perfect home for bespoke shoemaking.
The firm is awarded the Queens Award for Export Achievement, in recognition of its continued sale of boots, shoes and leather goods to customers around the world.
Eric Lobb, the man to whom much of the firm's post war success is accredited and who was pivotal in securing the firm a further three Royal Warrants, passes away. John Hunter Lobb takes over his role as chairman of the firm. A role he continues in to this day.
As a Warrant holder to HRH The Prince of Wales, the firm is honoured to be chosen as one of three Warrant holders for an official visit by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
Under the dutiful eye of the 5th generation of Lobb’s, the firm continues in an unbroken lineage of family values, commitment to craftsmanship, and of championing the possibilities of bespoke as an antidote to the mass produced and one-size-fits-all. Today we are still driven by a singular purpose: the celebration of the unique and the original.
To enquire about one of our in-shop, at home, or international consultations, please leave your name and address below and we will dispatch a response post-haste.
9 St. James’s Street
London
SW1A 1EF
NEWSLETTer
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