In 1880 William Church, heir to a lineage of master shoemakers from 1675 when his great-grandfather Stone Church was born, launched the "Adaptable" model and introduced the revolutionary concept of left and right shoes. The following year, the "Adapted" boot won a gold medal at the Great Exhibition. The world of shoemaking was changed forever, and Church was destined to be its undisputed protagonist, thanks to the rigorous hand-crafted quality and the typical English identity of his products.