Supporting British Industry & Craftsmanship
R. J. Draper & Co Ltd is a family run business and specialises in sheepskin slippers which are sold around the world. It is based in Glastonbury, which traditionally is the centre of the UK's sheepskin industry, dating back a thousand years when the monks of Glastonbury Abbey started tanning skins.
Four generations of the Draper family have run the business since 1937, which makes them the oldest manufacturer of sheepskin footwear in Britain. There is evidence of leather making on their site dating back to 1886 and whilst machines are now used, many of the techniques are traditional and have been passed down through generations. The company makes slippers, boots and gloves by hand and on average a pair of slippers takes four weeks to make. The business craft around 1,000 pairs of sheepskin slippers and boots a week. The skilled workers have a lifetime of experience working with sheepiskin and leather, with many generations of the same local families having worked in their factory.
"I happened upon Drapers whilst driving back from another job, so they were very kind to show me around when I turned up unannounced. Especially as it was during Covid, so I wasn't allowed to get too close to the machines or staff - who were working throughout the lockdowns as the factory was so spacious. I would love to return to get a proper look at the processes, there was a strong sense that very little had changed in the 90 years since the factory had opened and the staff had all worked their for decades, knowing the machinery and sheepskins inside out. Their was a ghostly floor above with discarded machinery gathering dust - many factories don't have the space for old and unused equipment but this place was vast and harked back to its heyday - in the 1950s and 60s it employed close to 400 people. It's wonderful that it is still operating, four generations on". Carmel King photographed Drapers of Glastonbury for The Archive in June 2021.
