Hunter Boot Limited is a British footwear manufacturer that is known for its rubber Wellington boots. Originally established in 1856 as the North British Rubber Company, the firm is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. It also has offices in London, New York and Düsseldorf. In addition to rubber boots and other footwear, Hunter sells products such as bags, socks and accessories. It previously made tyres, conveyor belts, combs, golf balls, hot water bottles and rubber flooring. Hunter holds several Royal Warrants as suppliers of waterproof footwear. Green Wellington boots, now manufactured in China, are its best known product.
History
Beginnings
In early January 1856, Henry Lee Norris, an American entrepreneur from Jersey City, New Jersey, and his friend and partner Spencer Thomas Parmelee of New Haven, Connecticut, landed in Scotland to work a patent of Charles Goodyear for the manufacture of India-rubber overshoes and boots. They arrived in Glasgow and began by searching for a suitable factory, which they eventually found at the Castle Mill in Edinburgh. A fine pair of condensing steam engines and boilers were included in the lease, which they were able to take up almost immediately due to the mill's partial occupation at the time. The pair were ready to begin operations in the midsummer of 1856. Originally, the company was named Norris & Co., which existed until the first limited liability act was introduced to Great Britain. The North British Rubber Company (which much later became known as Hunter Boot Limited) was registered as a limited liability company in September 1857.
Norris was eventually succeeded at the company by William Erskine Bartlett, who arguably invented what is considered to be the accepted type of car tyre today. Around 1907, the fledgling British Dunlop tyre company bought the 'Bartlett' patent from the North British Rubber Company for US$973,000, in order to acquire the rights to manufacture and distribute tyres under the same name. It is estimated that, today, the patent would be worth more than US$200,000,000.
The company made not only rubber boots but also tyres, conveyors, combs, golf balls, hot water bottles and rubber flooring. In the beginning, there were only four people working for the company; by 1875, the team had grown to 600. The company had offices in Edinburgh, London and New York.
Wartime production
Production of Wellington boots was dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I, when the company was asked by the War Office to construct a sturdy boot suitable for the conditions in flooded trenches. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to cope with the Army's demands. The Wellington boot was envied by German soldiers during World War I and its dependability was seen to contribute to the British army's success.
For World War II, the company was again called upon to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. Eighty per cent of production was for war materials - from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. In the Netherlands, forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and tight boots in vast supplies.
By the end of the war, the Wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wear in wet weather. It had become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. Also, with the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work.
Post-war period
After World War II, boot making had to move to a larger factory in Heathhall, Dumfries, to deal with the rise in demand. The factory was originally built for Arrol-Johnston (later Arrol-Aster), a Scottish automobile manufacturer, in 1913, before the company was liquidated in 1931. This is said to be the first car factory in Britain to use ferro-concrete (concrete reinforced with metal bars), and was designed by Albert Kahn.
The company's most famous Wellington, the "Original Green Wellington", was first made in the winter of 1955. It was the first orthopaedic boot made by Hunter, and was launched alongside the Royal Hunter - another boot that remained in Hunter's range in 2012. Reaction from trade was slow, and an order of 36 pairs considered an achievement. However, the company persisted, taking them to county shows and trade fairs. Thought of as more up-market than the traditional black Wellington of the time, the 'Original' tended at first to be worn by middle- to upper-class rural people, who are still sometimes referred to as the 'Green Welly Brigade'.