 G'day, welcome to Boot Lossophy, and I'm Tech. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands I live and work on, the Wajik people of Nungabuja, here in Perth in Western Australia. Today I'm exploring the English tradition in boots. This pair of Coniston boots from Northampton Bootmaker's Croquet and Jones. This is the Coniston boot from Croquet and Jones, based in Northampton in the United Kingdom. Before I look over the aesthetics of the boot design, let's take a look at the brand, Croquet and Jones. Croquet and Jones was founded in Northampton in the UK in 1879 by two brothers-in-law, James Croquet and Charles Jones. Both James and Charles had different but family connections in bootmaking. Charles in particular came from three previous generations of bootmakers, and when he married James' sister in 1873, they ended up founding Croquet and Jones in 1879. They started their business in Northampton, which for those who aren't familiar with England, is the largest market town and the county seat of the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands. They have always stayed in Northampton, although they have moved factories several times within the town, eventually ending up in their current site, which they then went on to improve and expand over the years. In one of the early moves in the 1890s, they installed a Goodyear welting machine, brought over from the US, to move from their hand-welting methods for better speed and efficiency. The company has stayed in the family, or families, of the Croquettes and the Joneses, for five generations and through their history has grown in reputation for their design and quality. They have received several royal warrants and have a number of significant historical milestones, such as the making of boots for Shackleton's expedition to the South Pole in 1914, the making of army boots for British soldiers in both world wars, making up to 600,000 pairs a year. As the number of small family bootmakers in Northampton shrank from numerous numbers in the 1890s and the 1900s, Croquet and Jones continue to grow and survive and are exporting significant numbers overseas. Of course, recently they are recognised as James Bond's bootmakers, James Bond of the Daniel Craig iteration. The Coniston is described by Croquet and Jones as a higher leg derby boot with a straight toe cap and with its stylistic references to British commando and officers boots, this cap-toe derby boot looks recognisable as an English staple boot design and it joins together style and sturdiness. A derby boot, of course, is a styler boot where the quarters are sewn on top of the vamp and the lacing sits on top of the vamp and Oxford is where the quarters are part of the vamp and the bottom of the lacing facings are closed together. It's a signature English country derby boot design with a five inch shaft measured from the top of the heel, a flat block heel, speed hooks and toe caps, a low profile sole, in this case day night and a storm welt. There's no way you'd mistake this for a work boot and despite the similar components you wouldn't mistake it for a US rugged service boot either. The English don't see this though as a dainty dress boot. This falls into their country boot class. When I say country boots, I'm not talking western boots. English country boots is a cross between town and country moving from the dressier designs used in town to more adaptable styles that can be worn in the country by gentlemen for hunting, shooting, horse riding and tramping what they call hiking. The most recognisable country boot is of course the brogue boot like the tricker stow but not all country boots are brogue. As such it's unfussy and stylish. Star wise its simplicity is its strength. I think most people would be comfortable wearing this with denim but in my view the denim jeans would need to be dark indigo or not so faded and definitely not light indigo. It's casual but stylish enough not to look right under really faded torn jeans and the lumberjack look. It's more suited to dark denim, black or brown jeans, even wool or corduroy trousers, waistcoats, wax coats and flat caps. At the same time because it's so adaptable it's not overly country so you can easily dress it up with smarter casual clothes like chinos and a button up shirt or trousers and a shirt and blazer. I think you can even dress it up under a suit. A grey suit works well with this English tan colour and helps the whole outfit pop. Now let's turn to construction. In my preamble you learned that Crockett & Jones brought in a Goodyear welting machine invented by Charles Goodyear Jr. at the turn of the 1890s so it won't surprise you to learn that this is a Goodyear welted boot. The outsole is Day Knight dark brown rubber outsole branded with a Crockett & Jones logo. Day Knight as you know is made by the Harborough rubber company in England which is only about 20 miles from Northampton. This sole is made up of a higher rubber content so it's flexible, more durable and less likely to fracture. The full length rubber outsole is glued onto a 5mm thick leather midsole before it sticks through to the uppers. A leather block heel is nailed on and then topped by a Day Knight top lift. This welt is a 360 degree split reverse welt. The English call split reverse welts storm welts whereas I would normally call a storm welt those welts that actually have the lip carved into them rather than like this where the welt is partly split and then the lip pushed up against the side of the boot. The English call what I call storm welts barber welts after the name of the company that makes them. For those new here this is called a 360 degree welt because it goes all the way around the circumference of the boot. You can check out my video on Goodyear welt construction up there somewhere but basically the welt is a thin strip of leather which in this case is about 5mm thick and it's sewn to the inside sole on the inside edge and then sewn on the outside edge through the midsole and the outsole. Since you have a 5mm thick welt surrounding the edge of the sole that causes a 5mm thick cavity inside the boot. In this case this is filled with sheet cork and a wooden shank is inserted inside between the heel and the ball of the foot so as to give stability in the gap as well as some torsional stability. Inside the boot as far as I am aware the insole is leather and the comfort heel liner is also leather. Staying inside the boot it's fully leather lined with a soft glove leather. The liner and the uppers leather combine to be only about 2mm thick which is about normal for unlined boots but remarkably thin for lined boots and yet as we look at the uppers it's a very sturdy yet supple upper. It's lasted on Crockett & Jones' number 325 last. A last is the shoe shaped mould that the boot maker stretches the uppers leather over to create the shape of the boot. Crockett & Jones described the 325 last as a medium round toe last with increased depth giving plenty of room in the forefoot. It's part of their main collection or classic contemporary collection lasts, the best selling in fact and it's used for walking boots and loafers. The uppers leather is Scotch grain, this has its origins from the 1920s and is embossed grain leather from European calf skin. Calf skin is tougher than older bovine skins because of the tighter fibre structures of skin from younger calves. As an aside a view of mine constantly and passionately asks if the boots I am reviewing are full grain. That's a very misunderstood term and I think what he might really mean is is the surface sanded lightly or otherwise or does it show the pores and hair holes of the animal. It does not necessarily mean that it's a thick piece of leather that goes from the surface down to the end of the skin unsplit leather and that could be up to at least a centimetre thick if not more. Going on Crockett & Jones says their Scotch grain goes through a special tannage that gives suppleness yet strength and yeah it feels like it. The Scotch grain is a pebbly leather, the surface is embossed of course, there are no pebble surface cows and that grain effect makes it look a very different boot from my usual chrome excels and oil tans and veg tans in my American service boots or even the yearling and calf skin of my R& Williams's. Some of the pebbly grain has been smoothed out on the toe cap and in the heel where the leather was stretched during lasting and elsa during my wear it's extremely soft and supple almost like a textile yet not easy to mark or scratch. I don't know the toe cap is a real toe cap that is a toe cap sewn on top of a full vamp but there is stiffening and structure in there so if it's not a real toe cap then there's a stiffener like leather or thermoplastic under this toe cap. Neither do I know what the heel counter is it's an internal heel counter that's inserted between the uppers and the lining and it feels flexible enough to be real leather or a leather composite rather than plastic. The tongue seems to be exactly the same as the rest of the uppers same Scotch grain but unlined so it's really comfortable on the ankle. It is ungusseted but it's never slipped on me so it must be either in the stitching or the design or the shape the stitching is impeccable. All along the toe cap around the quarters up the single strip backstay along the collar it's really fine work very fine stitches with an extremely high stitch density the highest stitch density per inch and the finest stitching that I've ever seen the stitching on the welt is also really fine and so close to the edge there's no margin for error honestly this is really fine work there's a cloth pull tab in the back of the shaft but you don't really need it and it's one of those that almost folds away so it doesn't catch on your trouser hem it's a very English discrete thing and an ocean away from the big beefy leather pull tabs on work boots. There are four blind eyelets and four speed hooks the blind eyelets aren't just holes punched through the leather they are reinforced with steel washes at the back everything about the construction of this boot is strong and sturdy yet fine discrete and carefully sleep down. This is a casual outdoor country boot that most everyone used to use as heritage boots would say is a pretty fine dress boot. As befits a bootmaker to kings and princes of England Crockett and Jones gives careful instructions about the care of your boots as you know my advice is to follow what the bootmaker says to do to look after their boots and failing that then look to the tannery. In this case they provide great instructions a video on how to care for scotch grain. First what I always say remove dirt and dust with a good brushing and if necessary a damp cloth then condition the leather. They recommend Sophia Renovateur because it's non-greasy and the beeswax base will protect. In the absence of Sophia Renovateur I'm happy using a close product like Venetian Shoe Cream easy to pronounce. I wouldn't substitute the more paraffin based products like Lexol or Big Four which are like in most other occasions. If your boots have seen harsh use tramping through mud and dirt it may be drier than it looks and they recommend a second or even third coat of conditioner. After conditioning leave it to dry and then a buff of the excess with a cloth then apply some cream polish. Again they recommend cream polish and not hard wax polish because the cream will help to nourish the leather as it polishes and it won't leave behind a hard surface. They recommend staging thin applications a number of times to build up the shine and then finally once the polish hazes brush in long strokes and finish with a buffing cloth. They also recommend using a shoe tree when you store these boots. As to sizing of course being English boots they use UK sizing. In my UK size I measure seven and a half in an average width. In the UK different manufacturers seem to call their average or medium widths by different letters. Some will call medium a G width and I've even seen others call medium a C width. In this case Crockett and Jones call their medium or average width an E width. I bought these in a 7E. Now when I bought them in store I think close to five years ago now I bought a 7 rather than 7 and a half because it was closer in European 7 that I was used to wearing and it felt pretty good. Now before I tell you how they fit just remember that if you're watching in the US the UK size numbers are one number down from US. So as I've been talking about seven and seven and a half that translates to eight and eight and a half. So my true size seven and a half. I bought seven because I thought they were most similar to my other shoes and they fit reasonably snugly. A half size up to true felt just a little too long I think. However I had a big problem breaking them in when I first bought them because they were tight not just snug at the toe box. This 325 last is meant to be roomy up front. Fine at the ball not at the toes. As you can see it's a very almond toe in shape and while the ball of the foot is generous enough it tapers in quite quickly. For almost the first year my pinky toes were hurt every time I wore these for a good working day at the office. I almost never wore them as casual boots because they just didn't feel comfortable. However after the longest time something just happened and they became quite comfortable. Today you can see they're quite well worn but not worn out. They fit my feet really well and I can almost say that I forget they're on. Given another chance I might have brought gone up maybe a half size or maybe stayed at seven and gone a width up. I don't know. Go watch my video rant on sizing up there. In terms of comfort and fit though once the breaking was done as I said they became really comfy. The fit is snug and not tight. There is a hold in the heel I like and there's room around the ball the foot but the toes no longer cramped. I held nicely so you're not kind of slipping around inside too big a toe box. The quarters are large and I have skinny ankles so in fit terms there is a tendency for the tops of the quarters to almost meet when I tie the laces. It gives that dressy look. Underfoot they feel like shoes not boots enough shock absorption and very flexible. So how about value? They currently retail for 560 pounds. I bought them I think about five years ago in the German Street flagship store in London for I think around the very low 500s. I think it's true that Crockett and Jones have always been seen to be expensive. Their marketing material and printed or PDF catalogs are designed like luxury brochures and if you've ever stepped into a brand-owned store in London you feel embarrassed that you forgot to comb your hair before you stepped in. But Crockett and Jones openly talk about the cost of quality. They say that their pricing structure is handled with exacting care and attention. The cost of materials make up about 45% of the shoe and the other 55% is labor overheads and margin. So the price of materials has a significant impact on cost and with rising leather prices this pulls the overall cost of materials upwards. They say investing in a pair of Crockett and Jones is investing in high quality materials and in highly skilled staff and their boots really are handmade. My 500 pounds in those days translated to around 800 Aussie dollars in the days when a pair of RM Williams Chelsea boots which are luxury items in Australia cost me around the mid 500s and yet at the same time I didn't hesitate. Handling them in store oh damn they felt good. Wearing them for all these years mainly as dress boots with a suit or at least business casual. They feel good, they look good and they have kept their quality. Nothing has come loose or dropped off. They feel as solid as on the first day. Would I buy them again at 560 pounds? If I had a spare cash I really would. It's not something I'd buy at the drop of a hat every day because they are up there. But if I did have the spare cash I wouldn't hesitate because they've lasted me well and they served me well and they still look good. Well that's my review of these Crockett and Jones Coniston boots in tan Scotch grain. What you think? If you like the review don't forget to click on like and if you're not a subscriber click on subscribe. That helps me to grow my channel so I can bring you more boot reviews and if you subscribe you won't miss my detailed boot reviews boot comparisons and brand comparisons and from time to time I do a best-off kind of video which I think you'll enjoy. What do you think of the Coniston? Let me know in the comments below. In my view a very different kind of boot to the types I've been wearing lately. Very English fine work and detailed yet sturdy and good enough for a trap through wet weather. The quality is excellent fine discreet and sleek. I honestly can't think of any negatives other than perhaps how long it took me to break in the toe box area and maybe the price but it is worth it in my view. If you're going to spend 900 Aussie dollars you can get these or a pair of Commander Soul Gardener boots from RM Williams or a pair of Whites MPs. All of them different styles so my advice buy them all. So take care people look after yourselves and I'll see you again soon.