The shop in Carnegie Street

TOTECTORS, a household name throughout the world in safety footwear, has spread its wings into leisure wear and opened its doors to the public.

And the result is top quality British goods a bargain prices.

Anyone can walk into the new trade-retail shop in Carnegie Street, Rushden and buy the goods at the quoted prices. The only difference in price between trade and retail will be for companies holding accounts and receiving discounts for volume purchases.

In other words Totectors cut out the middle man and pass on the benefit to the buying public. Typical examples for instance in the new leisure wear brochure are jeans £8.99 for men, £7.99 (women), Dobbie (Bomber) jackets at £9.99; shirts £5.49; college tops £7.49 for adults and £5.19 for children; T shirts £4.18 for adults and £3.29 for children; wet look waistcoats £5.50; silver rally jackets £15.99, or how about a fisherman's rain-suit for £19.99; a shower­proof jacket £4.99, children's £3.99.

There are also boiler suits from £5.25, Tyvek coveralls £2.21, Northamptonshire-made leather shoes from £11.45 and a wide selection of Gola leisure wear, all at reduced prices.

And for the man who has got just 40p in his pocket he can buy a pair of general-purpose work gloves with a chrome leather palm and retire to the garden.

But it is in safety wear, especially footwear that Totectors reign supreme. The company exports to sixty countries and the list is still growing — proof that when it comes to total protection Totectors are the people to turn to.

Whatever the conditions in which you work, and whatever part of the body you need to protect, you will find the answer at Totectors.

And to make sure orders reach their destination on time Totectors guarantee a 48-hour delivery service by using Securicor. Customers wanting urgent orders can collect them at the Carnegie Street shop.

Opening of GKN Totectors France
George Sangston is trying on a French tammy. Joan Mobley centre.	Michael Borlenghi being 'placed' by George Sangston and Roger Gayton. Joan Mobley 2nd right.

The remarkable story of enterprise and foresight by Totectors began in 1840 when Benjamin Denton, who lived in Stanwick, decided to start a bootmaking business in Higham Ferrers but was unable to obtain the necessary land. He therefore looked around Rushden and found an answer in the High Street where he started a shoemaking business, and shortly afterwards a currying business. He was not the first to make shoes in Rushden but he soon became an innovator and introduced the factory process for making footwear, not only to Rushden but to Northamptonshire. At the time most of the craftsmen worked at home and boot making was very much a cottage industry.

At this time friends of Benjamin Denton, Mr and Mrs Darnell, decided to set up a retail footwear business in London. It prospered and they took the entire Denton production. The Darnells' son William, joined their business. He gave up retailing and started to factor and eventually became one of the biggest wholesalers in London.

By 1867, Benjamin Denton had been joined by his eldest son George, the first of a trio of eldest sons all named George, who were later to succeed him. The business became B. Denton and Son. By now the family had wide connections in the trade. His sister Mary Anne (known as Polly) looked after the drapery side of the grocery and drapery shop which was part of the Rushden business. She later married Thomas Lilley, one of the founders of Lilley and Skinner's.

With the advent of the Blake sewing machine, a revolution was about to take place in the trade. The Dentons saw the possibilities and introduced the first Blake in Rushden.

In 1873, Benjamin Denton died and George took over the business. In 1885 he founded a subsidiary business with a Mr Wilkins to manufacture army boots in large quantities. The company was named Wilkins and Denton, a name that was to become a household word in the footwear industry. The Wilkins and Denton business operated from premises in Bishopsgate, London, and gave the Rushden factory a strong marketing base.

B. Denton and Son were made into a limited company in 1908 with George Denton still managing director. By now his son George jnr had joined him and the World War One contract for army boots ensured further growth. George jnr was by now running the business and in 1922 took complete control.

Like many industries after World War One B. Denton and Son Ltd suffered a slump and the health of George jnr began to suffer — for the first time the business lost some of its aggression. George jnr had married May Skinner, the eldest of four sisters in 1904 and their son George Henry was born the following year. After an early introduction to bootmaking he went off to see the world, returning in 1931 to find his father in poor health and the business ailing. His father's health was bad and the business had lots its previous prosperity. He quickly realised that the old factory was unsuitable for new methods of production then being introduced so a new chapter in the company's history was about to begin.

Progress at this time, the mid 1930s, was not easy, but George Henry had a good team around him.

By 1934 the business was again buoyant and George Henry began to look for expansion with the advent of steel toe caps.

In 1938 the first samples of steel caps had already been brought across the Atlantic and George Denton decided that B Denton and Son should endeavour to obtain the rights to manufacture safety footwear, but the war intervened.

Meanwhile, the foot accident rate worsened and in 1944, with the help of Ministry of Labour, George Denton went to the States to meet Arthur Williams where he was told: "No chance of getting what he wanted" — the licence to manufacture steel toe caps. They met but there was no mention of business. Instead George was asked if he could play cribbage. Having said "yes" he played solidly for two days, but there was no talk of business. However when the time came for George to return, Arthur Williams said: "I like you, you can have it," and the formation of International Safety Products took place to market the internal steel toe cap, manufactured under licence at Forging and Presswork, Whitton, Birmingham, and sold to all manufacturers of safety footwear.

In 1966 Wilkins and Denton Ltd (which now included B. Denton & Sons) International Safety Products, and Munt Bros Leather Factors joined Burfield Industries Ltd, a large group of companies who actually produced the toe caps. The same year Burfield Industries Ltd itself was absorbed into the giant GKN Group of Companies.

In 1974, a re-organisation of the GKN companies resulted in Wilkins and Denton joining the Firth Cleveland sub group of GKN. In 1975 Totectors became the brand name for footwear manufactured and sold by the company.

Now, Totectors is the largest specialist manufacturer of safety footwear in the UK.