This historic industry was pioneered by John William Rothwell, a resident of Holts Buildings, Millar Barn Lane Waterfoot. In November of 1874, John, a married man, fulfilled his first order which consisted of six dozen pairs of slippers featuring a printed felt upper and a saddle felt sole. The purchaser of this initial order was Mr Thomas Field of Oak Street, Manchester, a remarkable one-armed man who operated a stall at Shudehill Market. This marked the beginning of what would become a thriving and longstanding tradition in the Rossendale region.

In 1879 John Rothwell went into partnership with James Gregory - their firm employed Henry Whittaker Trickett from 1881 to 1883 who went on to set up his own mill at Gaghills. By 1900 Trickett was employing over 1,000 people and producing 72,000 shoes a week.

In 1877 Lambert Howarth and his wife Betsy set up Lambert Howarth & Sons in Whitewell Bottom and at its peak they produced 10 million pairs of shoes a year, employed 2,500 people and supplied major British retailers such as Marks & Spencers.

Rossendale was once the hub of footwear manufacturing in the UK and was home to the birth of the first pair of slippers. The county’s textile industry was at the forefront of innovation; adopting both steam power and the factory-based system of production, and left an enduring legacy still evident today through the many mills dominating the landscape.

Unfortunately due to cheaper labour abroad and a lack of new investment in technology, manufacturing companies could not compete with overseas production costs, which led to a decline in the 1980’s.

TC Components Ltd was founded in 1983 by Trevor Cunliffe (pictured right). The company produced and supplied components for the shoe industry and since the fall, continued to supply the remaining manufacturers and ventured into orthopaedic footwear and leather goods manufacturing, supplying materials and components nationwide.

Chris Royle (pictured left) began working for Trevor in his early twenties after leaving his job at the footwear manufacturing company, Lambert Howarths. In 1996, after many successful years in the shoe business, Trevor retired and sold the business to Chris who is still the owner to this day.

Chris has over 40 years of experience in the footwear industry and has built the business up to what it is today and created a healthy portfolio of customers and strong relationships with suppliers within the industry.

2023 marks the 40th year anniversary of TC Components Ltd. We are extremely proud of achieving 40 years of business within the UK footwear and leather goods manufacturing markets.

We would like to thank all our customers and partners, as this would not have been possible without the loyalty, support and strong relationships we have built together. We hope that with our experience and credibility we continue to supply and serve our customers to a high standard in the years to come.