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By Bill Drage 2012
John Drage - Honest John
Boot & Shoe Manufacturer 1833-1906

From the 1921 Catalogue sketch of the factory
From the 1921 Catalogue
and the sketch of the factory

John & Emma Drage
John & Emma Drage

John was the second of eight children born to William Hooton Drage and Sarah Drage [nee Allebone]. His baptism is recorded on 17th July 1833 in Bozeat. William Hooton was not able to sign his name on his wedding day 10th October 1930 although his wife Sarah could. The family lived in a 2 bedroom terraced cottage in Dag Lane, Bozeat and William Hooton was described as a shepherd in early records and later in the censuses of 1841 -1861 an agricultural labourer. In 1871 he was recorded as a gardener.

It is thought that John left home at 18 years old to become apprenticed as a baker. He married Maria Denton on 2nd June 1852 in Olney. He was described as a baker. They had a daughter Sarah Elizabeth who was baptised on 17th October 1852 in Wollaston. Maria Drage died in 1852. Sarah was raised by Maria Denton’s family in Wollaston and married Samuel Pyle in Paddington, London in 1872.

John married his second wife Emma Chambers in 1855. He was described as a shoemaker. The 1861 census describes him as a Shoe Agent. The London Gazette October 18th 1864 refers to John Drage Boot and Shoe Manufacturer of Bozeat being adjudged bankrupt on 20th September 1864 and gives notice of his application for discharge on 25th November 1864. It was the fact that John’s creditors were paid the full 20 shillings in the pound that led to him becoming known as Honest John. It is probable that John made use of his time spent in London for court appearances to develop contacts for his Boot & Shoe business. The 1921 Honest John and Sons footwear catalogue refers to the business being established in 1865, conflicting with other claims of the business being established in 1861. The earlier date probably refers to the business involved in John’s bankruptcy.


from the 1921 catalogue factory
1921 catalogue stating established in 1865
A photograph of the factory

The 1921 Honest John and Sons footwear catalogue refers to the business being established in 1865, conflicting with other claims of the business being established in 1861. The earlier date probably refers to the business involved in John’s bankruptcy.


Honest John
Honest John
The 1871 census refers to John Drage as a Shoe Factor, but by the 1881 census he was a Shoe Manufacturer employing 6 men and 4 boys. John’s younger brother William Hooton is also listed in 1881 as a Shoe Manufacturer employing 2 men, 2 boys and 10 girls. The business flourished and was based at the Old School premises at the bottom of Mile Street, which John had converted in 1873. The London Metropolitan Archives show John took a 17 year lease on premises in London SW 12 in the 1890s. The business expanded to include the export market to the colonies. His sons, William Chambers and John Evans joined the company and John became more involved in Bozeat affairs.

John and Emma had 9 children between 1856 and 1874. 3 houses were built for Drage family members in the 1870s He was a Trustee for the Methodist Chapel built in 1877, on the School Board and Vice Chairman of the Parish Council in 1903.On September 9th 1887 John was foreman of a coroner’s court Inquest into the death of George Partridge. A verdict of Wilful Murder was returned. John gave a good character reference on behalf of the accused, Arthur Harrison at his trial at Bedford 3 counties assizes in October 1887. Harrison was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 1 month’s hard labour.

John Drage died on April 1st 1906 at the age of 72. The company he founded continued to use his name at their factory in Hope Street. A painting of a huge boot and inside it a picture of John with a bulldog was put on the west wall in 1932. Honest John was a distinguished and colourful Victorian, whose story would not be out of place as the subject of a novel by Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy.

2012 repainted
2012 - with the boot repainted - factory now converted into flats

Bill Drage 2x Great Grandson of John Drage
With thanks for help from my wife Joan and my cousin Peta Cato



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