Linsdell's

Linsdell's is a bootmaker's on Kilnside in Cambridge, the kiln men's street that runs along the Blue Kiln wall, warm enough in winter to be envied and scorching by August. Mary Linsdell keeps it, and what she makes is the working boot of the yards: thick in the sole, high at the ankle and stitched to stand heat, grit and the drag of stone underfoot.

The three trades of the town keep to themselves in most matters, yet stone, kiln and glass men alike are dressed from the same pair of counters. Jonathan Sizer on Bell Row provides the leather aprons, the thick cuffs and the coats that a stray spark will not catch, and Mary Linsdell provides whatever goes on the feet. A company bound into the yards should buy its protective gear here in the town, not bring along whatever it supposes will do from elsewhere.

Kiln men say a pair from Linsdell's is not broken in until it has been scorched once, and the shop takes old boots back to be resoled when the heat has had its way with them. Fitting is done on a bench by the door, and a newcomer is expected to walk the length of the shop and back before he pays.