The Last Cobbler

M. Fougeron in his shop, Amboise

The end of an era. It’s hard to pass 4 rue Verdun without a pang. M. Fougeron, the last cobbler in Amboise, after fifty years has retired and gone fishing. Born in Amboise, he knows the Loire well.

His tiny old shop, a much loved landmark, was a symbol of bygone days and of a vanishing way of life.

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe

Get it done by half-past two

Stitch it up and stitch it down

Then I’ll give you half a crown

Yes! Good master. That I’ll do.

Here’s my awl and wax and thread

Now your shoe is quite mend-ed*

The mayor of Amboise, Thierry Boutard, presented M. Fougeron with a community medal acknowledging that he and his quirky little shop had, for so many years, added to the ambience of the town.

What a pity the town has not yet taken possession of the huge old Gustave Eiffel hangar. It could be turned into a Museum and M. Fougeron’s tiny workshop, along with the tools of his ancient trade and old advertising paraphernalia, could have been resurrected there just as they did in Hitchin in the UK. When the last Victorian Chemist closed its doors, it was dismantled and rebuilt in the town museum.

Victorian Chemist, Hitchin Museum, UK

* English Nursery Rhyme 1805

Post by Pamela, photography by Mark.