From an early period the shoemakers of Ecija have been in high repute throughout Spain; woollen cloth, flannel, linen and silks are also manufactured.
Especially in France, but also in England and in other parts of Europe, the festival of St Crispin was for centuries the occasion of solemn processions and merry-making, in which gilds of shoemakers took the chief part.
Beyond the cloister, at the extreme verge of the convent area to the south, stands the "factory" (Z), containing workshops for shoemakers, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders, trencher-makers, tanners, curriers, fullers, smiths and goldsmiths, with their dwellings in the rear.
Bakers', butchers', shoemakers' stalls were grouped together in the market-place to facilitate control, and with the same object in view a master was appointed for each craft as its responsible representative.
Cleaning sheds were re-appropriated for use as follows, Tailors and shoemakers shops, September 1939.
