But from the 1830s there was a house in the wooded area adjacent to where the Shoe Tree stands. It can be seen on the first edition OS map below, the square just below the old windmill. A very substantial stone-built single storey house, some 20 metres squared, stood here. This house was occupied for over twenty years by Joseph Sewell, a man who deserves to be much better known in Heaton than he is. The Development of the Glass Industry on the Rivers Tyne and Wear 1700-1900’ / by Catherine Ross; Newcastle University thesis, 1982 Joseph’s early life remain something of a mystery but we do know he was born c1777 in Northumberland. By 1804 he had become the owner of the already substantial St Anthony’s Pottery less than three miles from Heaton. The road now known as Pottery Bank led from the factory to the works’ own staithes on the River Tyne.

However, you can reduce their prominence by regularly using a shoe tree after every wear. The shoe tree will smooth out inside or outside creases and wrinkles by manipulating the leather into its original shape. Premium wooden shoe trees at Cheaney Shoes You can use shoe trees for your trainers. They will provide the same benefits as your leather dress shoes. Use a cedar shoe tree to keep your leather trainers looking smart and smelling fresh. Can shoe trees damage shoes? In 1851, the year in which Armorer Donkin died, the pottery name reverted and became Sewell and Company.

Yvonne Shannon’s dad, who is 85, remembers going to the refreshment rooms for ice cream but he can’t recall anything about the big house. Heaton History Group member, Ken Stainton, remembers it too. He told us that an elderly man ‘ quite a nice guy’ called Mr Salkeld ran the refreshment rooms when he was young. Ken remembers the name because he went to school with Norman Salkeld, one of the proprietor’s grandsons. But Ken’s memories are from the second world war: ‘S weets were rationed. I don’t think they had cake. I just remember orange juice.’ The identity of the writer of the letter accompanying the first photo below would seem to confirm Ken’s recollections. Armstrong Park tea rooms, early 20th century As well as in local collections, there seem to be particularly large numbers of Sewell pieces in museums in Denmark which suggests this was a big market for Sewell’s pottery.

But next time you pass, look up at the trainers and think about all the runners who set off from that spot, some of which were to lose their lives soon afterwards, and give a thought also to the entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist, Joseph Sewell, whose house footprint is beneath your feet.

From 1819, the firm was known as Sewell and Donkin. Armorer Donkin, Jesmond and Heaton landowner, solicitor and businessman and soon to be Joseph Sewell’s landlord, had become a partner in the firm. The primary purpose of a shoe tree is to keep your shoes from bending out of shape during storage. It will hold your shoe in the correct position to hold its shape and help smooth out any creases or wrinkles created while walking. As a result of proper care, your shoe will look less worn and stay in a comfortable shape.

If you get leather shoes wet, the leather can warp and shrink as they dry. Use a shoe tree to ensure that your damp shoes dry into the correct shape. You can use shoe trees in boots and reap the same benefits as using them with your leather shoes. However, to protect the entire boot shaft from warping or developing unwanted creases, you will need a specific boot tree with an extended portion to fill the boot shaft or you could just pad this area with newspaper. Are shoe trees good for trainers?There are also references in the press to scholars such as those of the Ballast Hills and St Lawrence Sunday schools being taken up the Ouseburn to the ‘ plantation of Joseph Sewell Esq’ including some mentions of tea and spice buns! Estate plans, estimated to date from around 1800, shows this particular part of Heaton, which was owned by the Ridley family, covered in trees and described as ‘ plantations’. On the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, the area is labelled ‘Bulman’s Wood’. We know that by the first half of the 19th century, it was owned by Armorer Donkin, the solicitor who in the 1830s employed William Armstrong as a clerk and became almost a father figure to him. On Donkin’s death in 1851, Armstrong inherited much of the land that he in turn gifted to the citizens of Newcastle, including the park which bears his name and houses the Shoe Tree. Ironically, the advent of the railways from the 1830s, pioneered in the north-east, made things more difficult for Tyneside potteries as they enabled fashionable Staffordshire names to access the local market directly rather than have to transport goods by road and sea via London. Consequently their ceramics became relatively cheaper and more popular in this part of England. It is impossible to remove creases altogether. You would have to not wear your shoes to keep them crease-free. Nor can you fix shoe creases once you have worn your shoes. As you walk, your shoes will bend and adapt to your natural foot bend, as leather is a natural material.

There is no limit to how long you should leave shoe trees in your shoes as long as you wear your shoes frequently. Leave shoe trees inside overnight to help preserve their original shape and stretch out any creases. If they have got wet, leave them in for at least 24 hours. What happens if I don’t use shoe trees?Can’t I just keep hold of the cardboard inserts and tissue paper the shoes came with, you ask? Let’s stamp that line of thought out right away. While it’s true this measure will go some way to maintaining a shoe’s shape, it’s not nearly as effective as a sturdier wooden implement. It also overlooks the other key purpose of a shoe tree: to absorb moisture. One made from unvarnished cedar, ideally with a brass knob, will be most absorbent, keeping odours at bay. What other measures should I be taking to prolong the life of my shoes? St Anthony’s Pottery, Newcastle upon Tyne: Joseph Sewell’s book of designs’ / edited by Clarice and Harold Blakey on behalf of the Northern Ceramic Society and Tyne & Wear Museums, 1993 We can’t express enough the importance of using shoe trees to keep your leather shoes in the best possible condition for the longest time possible. Discover the best pair of shoe trees for your leather shoes at Cheaney in our shoe tree collection. We highly recommend our Cedarwood shoe tree for its moisture-absorbing properties and phenomenal smell. And we also have a shoe tree specifically for your shoes from our Imperial collection to get the perfect fit. In August 2020 the Woodland Trust shortlisted a sycamore in Armstrong Park, known as the ‘Shoe Tree’, for its English ‘Tree of the Year’. Our representative in the competition certainly isn’t as ancient as many of the other contenders, although that didn’t stop an anonymous wit constructing a fictional history for it, as this panel, which mysteriously appeared one night in 2012, shows. That Joseph had some philanthropic leanings is shown by charitable donations including one from ‘ Messrs Sewell and Donkin’ in 1815 to a relief fund set up after the Heaton Colliery disaster and in 1848 to another following a tragedy at Cullercoats when seven fishermen drowned.