In about 1905, boot maker Johnny (John Joseph) Staples constructed what is now known as the Mylor Boot Maker's Shop (or cottage). The shop is located in Sherry Park next to the oval on the main road through Mylor. Johnny lived and worked in the one roomed cottage for about 14 years before his death in 1919.
Over the ensuing years, the cottage was put to a variety of uses. During the mid 1930's Mr. Peter Crouch lived there. In about the 1940s, it was used to store knapsack sprays for the CFS. Later still, when local baker Mr Stevenson owned the land, he is said to have stabled his horses there. Given its size it is more likely that he fed his horse there. By the mid 70s, the chimney had collapsed, and by 1980 the cottage had become derelict. Now, in mid 2010 parts of the northern and eastern walls have crumbled away. Click here to view a gallery of old photographs of the cottage.
Residents Don and Marg Fidock, our local historian, protected the cottage and those who went near it, by wrapping the walls with cyclone wire mesh, and making repairs where practicable. Over the years, other attempts to save the cottage from ruin were thwarted by the magnitude of the task.
Recently,the MCFC investigated restoration options, but concluded that since the cottage was unsafe and restorationbeyond its means, it should be replaced with a replica. Demolition was scheduled for early 2010.
In response to the proposed demolition, a local action group called SOBS – Save Our Bootmaker's Shop, was formed by Jane Goldsmith and Lesley Ewing. SOBS believed that a replica held no historical significance, and that an important part of our heritage was to be destroyed without consultation with the wider population of Mylor.
Specialist heritage restorer Keith McAllister of Heritage Stone Restorations (HSR) was consulted on the project's feasibility, and after a detailed inspection of the cottage, said that the building could be made safe, and restored using volunteer labour, under the guidance of an HSR expert.
A money raising target of $16,000 was set.
