Mens Velour Sneaker

This comfortable sneaker from British shoe manufacturer Walsh is handmade in Bolton, Greater Manchester. The upper is made from velvety calfskin suede, while the lining is partly made from soft lambskin and partly from a textile fabric. As the padded insole is removable, it can be replaced with your own insoles if required. The profiled rubber outsole ensures a good grip on almost any surface. The design of the sneaker is based on the "Horwich" model, named after a town in the Bolton area, which founder Norman Walsh designed in the 1970s. Walsh designed the original model as a trail running shoe for less extreme terrain and road stages.

Norman Walsh was just 14 years old when he began an apprenticeship as a cobbler at J. W. Foster & Sons in Bolton, in northwest England, in 1945. His employers quickly recognized his outstanding talent, and his first major order was to make spikes for the British team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Other successful models followed, including for the famous middle-distance runner Roger Bannister, who managed to break the four-minute mile record in 1954, and for British footballer Nat Lofthouse. In 1961, Walsh left J. W. Foster & Sons and founded his own brand under the name "Norman Walsh Footwear". He remains unforgotten in the world of professional sports with his high-quality, handcrafted special shoes for sports such as rugby, cricket, soccer, athletics and fell running. Since 1996, the company has been run by brothers Jon and Dennis Crompton. With their collection, they revive the sports shoe legends of the founder Norman Walsh, who died in 2014. The shoes are produced then as now in the manufactory in Bolton. Walsh is the last British-owned shoe manufacturer to produce continuously in Bolton since 1961.