Museum in Somerset UK, exploring 200 years of shoemaking in Street by Clarks shoes.
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Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. PlasterCreative (talk) 15:52, 24 April 2026 (UTC)
The Shoemakers Museum is a museum in Street, Somerset, England, which explores the history of shoemaking in the area.The museum opened [1]to the public in September 2025, with permanent galleries dedicated to the social history[2] of shoemaking in Street, the original home of the C&J Clarks shoe brand.[3]
Shoemakers Museum frontage
Galleries
Four galleries house permanent exhibitions telling the 200 year history of footwear development and factory production, the Quaker origins of Street in Somerset and the social and cultural impacts of the footwear business. A gallery on selling and buying shoes focusses on advertising and retail history with replica 1950s and 1980s shops.
A fossil gallery displays a collection of marine reptiles found under the factories, which opened[4] in February 2026. This features an internationally important collection of Jurassic fossils collected by Alfred Gillett, a member of the Clark family, and members of the 19th century Somerset Archaeological Society, which were discovered in the layer of rock beneath the Clarks factories.
History and Management
Shoemakers Museum is managed by the Alfred Gillett Trust, which was established in 2002 to care for the archives and collections of C&J Clark Ltd and the Clark family. The Trust bought the collections of a previous Shoe Museum when it closed in 2019. Shoemakers Museum displays this wider collection of social and industrial history.
Shoemakers Museum Permanent Collection
The Alfred Gillett Trust’s collections Shoemakers Museum has an active education program supporting visits and outreach with schools and colleges through a dedicated education room and handling collection. The museum also enables pre-booked archive tours of the extensive Clarks collection which spans generations of shoemaking on the site.
The museum features the Shoemakers Café, open to the public daily.
Architecture and Building Design
Shoemakers Museum and the Alfred Gillett Trust are based at The Grange, a Grade II listed building next to Clarks Village in Street. in 2023 planning permission was granted for a Shoemakers Museum, a brand new visitor attraction to be built at The Grange, making the collections accessible to the public. The new brick building with a contemporary design created byPurcell Architects joins the Georgian Grange manor house, to a barn with medieval origins.
The permanent exhibitions, including graphic design, wayfinding and shop interiors, were created by Nissen Richards [5]Studio in collaboration with the museum’s curatorial team. The design of the building is intended to express three layers of Street’s history: geological, architectural and industrial.
Recognition
In 2026, the museum was nominated for Permanent Exhibition of the Year[6] at the Museums and Heritage Awards 2026.
