- Vulcan works constructed by Henry Mobbs in the 19th Century
- When the factory was built in 1875 it was used by an engineering company known as Mobbs & Co
- Mobbs & Co supplied machinery for the boot and shoe industry at which time the boot and shoe was thriving
- Mobbs & Co remained here until the 1890’s
- In 1890s North part of the factory was occupied by Phipps and Co. Leather Warehouse
- Factory was owned by the Phipps family for 70 years
- Most of the building has remained empty since the late 1970’s
- The site sits on a street which slopes severely from North to South
“This former engineering works is the best survival of the 14 extant examples of the type producing boot and shoe machinery as identified in the EH Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Industry Survey. It has a well-detailed and impressive front to Guildhall Road and it is also an unusual example of a surviving town-centre engineering works. Its remarkably central position means that it forms a significant commercial and civic group with No. 27 opposite, the entrance to the Theatre Royal, now Derngate Theatre, further up the street, and with The Guildhall closing the view at the top..” (English Heritage)
A great tool to use to look for information about listed buildings would be English Heritage, the link for which is: http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-492705-vulcan-works-northamptonshire