Joseph Cheaney established the company in 1886, and in 1896, along with his son Arthur, they moved to the site which the factory occupies today.

During the first 80 years of business, the factory made shoes exclusively for some of the finest retailers around the world, branded to their individual company requirements.

Joseph Humfrey Cheaney, the founder’s grandson who worked for the company for 51 years, realised that the company’s future lay in building up its own Cheaney brand for its home and export markets. In 1964, determined to see the legacy built up by the family continue, the decision was taken to sell the business to Church’s English Shoes. The Cheaney brand then became available to retailers all over the world, backed by a comprehensive instock service from the Desborough factory.