To Bath from ‘down under’.
Australian bootmaker R.M.Williams is opening its newest UK store at 42 Milsom Street on Thursday, November 27th, in a building first constructed in 1788. Two histories, shaped on opposite sides of the world, now meet in Bath’s newly reimagined Shires Yard.
A Store Built Around Its History
Founded in 1932 in a modest workshop in South Australia, R.M.Williams was built on the principles of making things that last. The brand’s iconic one-piece leather boots are still made by hand using more than 80 individual processes – a tradition born in the Australian bush, refined across generations, and now carried into a building that has held over two centuries of community, trade and craft.
When the team first stepped into the former banking hall inside Shires Yard, where preserved stone and original patina create a quiet sense of time, the connection was immediate. For a brand built on heritage and craftsmanship, the choice felt instinctive.
The connection isn’t only historic; it’s present in the atmosphere of the building itself.
The stone walls, aged finishes and expansive ceiling set a quiet, character-rich backdrop for the brand’s meticulously crafted collections. The parallels between the building and the brand are undeniable: each shaped by craft, grounded in natural materials and built for longevity. Rather than introducing a new identity, the store design reinforces the building’s own, revealing the stories embedded within its walls and the history that endures.
The R.M.Williams in-house design team worked with Melbourne-based architecture firm, ACRD, on a design that honoured the building’s heritage rather than overwriting it. Everything was shaped by what came before.
Features include:
Original stone walls are preserved as a defining feature, holding the building’s story in their patina.
Blackbutt timber joinery, a nod to the Australian landscapes where the brand originated.
Aged brass details, echoing the traditional tools of leather craft
Bath limestone and heritage-inspired tones.
Traditional signwriting by Carlie Allan (Buck & Bear Design) on glass and mirror, tying contemporary craft back into Bath’s artisanal legacy.
Vintage furniture, including Tage Petersen Brutalist oak armchairs and an 1880s Savile Row gilded tailor’s mirror.
Commissioned artwork by First Nations artist Tiarna Herczeg, connecting Australian identity with British heritage. The result is a space that feels warm, confident and deeply connected to place – an environment that celebrates the building’s past while creating a fitting home for R.M.Williams’ future.
An Immersive Brand Experience
The store offers the full breadth of the R.M.Williams collection, including:
Handcrafted Chelsea boots, leather goods and belts
Premium apparel
Seasonal gifting
Personalisation and leather debossing services
A Celebration of Bath’s Contemporary Makers
To honour the community the brand is joining, R.M.Williams will release a content series on the day of the opening, spotlighting Bath’s current generation of craftspeople – those continuing the city’s legacy in food, design and material culture.
The series features:
Landrace (regenerative milling and baking)
Society Café (speciality coffee pioneers)
Ceramic artist Olivia Webb
Chef Ana Ortiz
Mel and Tom Calver, champions of rural craft and land stewardship
A New Chapter for Shires Yard
Reopened under its historic name in October 2025, Shires Yard spans 75,000 sq ft of listed Georgian buildings, terraces and courtyards. Once a bustling stable yard transporting goods and art between Bath and London, it has been revived to highlight independent makers, heritage retailers and hospitality.
R.M.Williams joins this community as a continuation of its own story – one that began in the red dust of the Australian outback, and now continues its journey of craftsmanship, carrying its tradition of enduring, hand-made excellence into a new home that feels as though it was waiting for it all along.
