Description:An engraving of the ‘old’ Bostock’s shoe factory on Cross Street, Stone, viewed across fields from Longton Road. The Factory dated from the 1850s and was founded by Thomas Bostock. In 1871 Thomas died and his brother Edwin, who owned the Stafford factory, took on the Stone factory too. In 1919 the company was renamed Lotus Ltd. after its most popular brand. Shoe production at the Stone Lotus site ceased in 1975 and the whole factory was purchased by G.E.C. Meters in 1978 and was later the home of ABB Meters, and now (in 2024) Hitachi. The old factory buildings on Cross Street and Oulton Road were demolished in 1999 and new housing built.