The rise and fall of a city giant

ESTABLISHED in 1830, Nathaniel Corah and Sons epitomised the industrial landscape of Leicester, growing to become the largest producer of knitwear in Europe.

It was the first clothing partner of Marks & Spencer, widely accepted to have been instrumental in their success.

One of the major employers in Leicester, Corah had 1,000 workers in 1900, and by the 1960s, had expanded to 6,500.

The 1970s and 1980s saw severe recessions that affected the domestic hosiery industry.

Corah’s trade declined as competition from cheap imports and the rapidly changing tastes and fashions of the British impacted on the core business.

Clothing production for retail customers continued to move abroad to bring down costs and increase profits.

Though Corah tried to keep prices competitive by borrowing from banks, they were ultimately taken over by Australian company Charter Hall in 1989, thus bringing to an end the 159-year association with the Corah family.

In the following years, the company’s assets were broken up and sold off and by the early 1990s the factory had closed.

In a study on industrial decline in Leicester, Professor Simon Gunn and Colin Hyde, of the University of Leicester, concluded “the closure of Corah was a prime example of the sudden fall of what was regarded as a Leicester institution.

“With the passing of landmark firms like Corah, so it seemed went an integral part of the city’s identity.

“Leicester had ceased to be recognisable as a ‘great industrial town’ in the terms so glowingly recorded a mere quarter century before.”