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Three Words That Change Everything "Made in England" used to be unremarkable. It was simply where things were made. Boots, shoes, tools, textiles — they came from British factories because that is where the factories were. Nobody put it on a label because nobody needed to. Then manufacturing left. The factories closed, the skills dispersed, and production moved to Asia. What remained was a handful of stubborn makers — mostly...

The Dr Martens story begins in 1945 when Klaus Märtens, a German doctor, designed an air-cushioned sole to help his injured foot heal. He partnered with Herbert Funck, and the two began producing boots in Munich. In 1959, the Griggs family — shoemakers in Wollaston, Northamptonshire — spotted the design in a trade magazine and licensed it for the British market. On 1 April 1960, the first Dr Martens 1460 boot rolled off the production line.