Charles F. Stead Introduces Beaumont Leather

In the world of fine leathers, few names carry the same respect as Charles F. Stead & Co. Ltd. Founded in Leeds over a century ago, this historic English tannery has become synonymous with hides that balance beauty, durability, and character. Conveniently located just a short drive from our Sheffield workshop, Stead has long been a natural partner for GORAL, sharing our belief that materials should only get better with time. CF Stead is best known for its exceptional suedes, grain leathers, and cult favourites like Waxy Commander and Repello. Now, their latest development, Beaumont, is creating excitement inside the GORAL workshop for all the right reasons.

What is Beaumont leather?

Beaumont is Charles F. Stead’s modern interpretation of a richly finished pull-up leather, a type of leather prized for its depth, movement, and evolving character. It is a full-grain, pure aniline hide, infused with natural oils and waxes during tanning rather than coated afterwards. What makes Beaumont special is its pull-up effect, when the leather flexes, bends, or creases, the oils inside migrate, creating lighter tones and subtle contrasts across the surface.

How Beaumont compares to Chromexcel

For many leather enthusiasts, Horween’s Chromexcel is the benchmark for pull-up leather. Produced in Chicago using a combination tanning process and heavy hot-stuffing of oils and waxes, Chromexcel is famous for its supple feel and dramatic colour movement from day one.

Beaumont sits in a similar visual and tactile space, offering a rich pull-up effect, oily-wax finish and full-grain character. The difference being where Chromexcel is known for a break-in period, Beaumont brings a slightly more softer feel, reflecting Charles F. Stead’s English tannage heritage for soft and supple leather supply.

Why we chose Beaumont for GORAL

At GORAL, we choose materials not just for how they look on day one, but for how they perform over years of wear and repair. Beaumont fits perfectly with our philosophy of resoleable construction and long-term ownership. Its waxed, aniline finish protects the hide while allowing it to breathe, scuffs can be brushed out, colour deepens with use, and the leather develops a natural patina that feels personal rather than pristine. Combined with our Blake-stitched, fully resoleable construction, Beaumont ensures your shoes aren’t disposable, they’re designed to evolve. In short, Beaumont isn’t about perfection, it’s about character, movement, and longevity, exactly what we believe modern footwear should stand for.