In a tucked-away spot on the lanes between Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh sits a rather magical studio. Wooden shoe lasts (the tools used to shape shoe leather) are placed on a workbench alongside pieces of expertly-cut leather. Delicate thread on bobbins and rolls of ribbons are nearby.
The studio belongs to master shoemaker and creative visionary Caroline Groves. Continuing the local tradition of handmade craft which is celebrated at Court Barn, Caroline’s shoes are beautiful and sophisticated, blurring the lines between craft, fashion and fantasy. She set up her couture footwear company in 2003 and is now renowned across the world for luxury craftsmanship.
Caroline’s family history is also intimately linked with Campden’s Arts and Crafts heritage. Her great-grandfather on her mother’s side was Walter Curtis, who joined C. R. Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft in 1889 as a cabinet-maker and remained working for twenty years, moving with Ashbee and the Guild to Campden in 1902. Mary Dyer, Caroline’s grandmother, was also a passionate silversmith who attended evening classes with George Hart and Harry Warmington for fifty years. Mary Dyer’s son and Caroline’s father, Roland Dyer, was an important local photographer whose work documenting the life of Campden and its residents is in Court Barn’s collection.
Court Barn hosted a spectacular exhibition of Caroline’s handmade shoes alongside millinery by Louise Pocock in autumn 2022. The museum is delighted to have recently acquired a pair of Caroline’s shoes for its permanent collection. Now on display, the ‘Campaign’ shoes are made of oak-bark tanned leather from Bakers Colyton Devon (one of the last oak-bark tanners in the world), suede and hand-stitched blue linen thread. The blue grosgrain fabric between the shoe’s upper and its lining adds strength to its topline as well as adding a touch of colour. The shoes’ heel covers are needlepoint work, stitched in English wool with a single mother-of-pearl set into each heel. Vintage French silk ribbons are used as ties.
The museum’s purchase of these incredible examples of handmade footwear is thanks to Arts Council England , as well as the Alice Johnson Bequest, the Lorely Burkhill Fund and the Woven Foundation.
All of Caroline’s shoes are hand-sculpted using traditional techniques and her passion for leatherwork, needlecraft and textiles is expressed in the individual character of each creation. Describing her process, Caroline writes on her website that ‘the “building” of my footwear really is more akin to the construction of a musical instrument or a fine piece of furniture… I wish to retain that “soul” that I always talk about’. This “soul” of making would undoubtedly have been recognised by C. R. Ashbee, Walter Curtis, Mary Dyer, George Hart, Harry Warmington, Roland Dyer and others who form part of Chipping Campden’s extensive legacy of craft and design. We’re absolutely thrilled to have Caroline’s beautiful work in the museum’s collection.
