Museum to show 200-year history of Clarks shoemakers

The museum will open next month in the village where Clarks began

A museum showcasing 200 years of shoemaking history is set to open next month.

The Shoemakers Museum will explore the social and cultural stories behind Clarks – which grew to become one of the most recognised names on the High Street.

It will open on 18 September in Street, Somerset, where the Quaker family business began.

Rosie Martin, museum director, said: "This is a museum about people – their craft, their community and the shoes that became part of life's biggest milestones."

She added: "Whether you remember your first Clarks or you're discovering their story for the first time, we can't wait to welcome you."

The museum is opening in the business's 200th anniversary year, in the Clarks Village shopping outlet.

Its displays will feature voices of Street locals who worked at the factory, a fossil unearthed during factory construction, and the famous gauges used to measure children's feet since the 1940s.

The project has been led by the Alfred Gillett Trust, a charity that preserves and shares Clarks' history.

The Clarks gauge has been used to measure children's feet for decades

Cato Pedder, the trust's chairwoman, said: "The museum stands not just as a tribute to the Clark family legacy, but as a platform for future generations to explore creativity, community and cultural identity – through the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other."

The museum site includes a Grade II listed building that has been associated with shoemaking for more than a century and is famous for its connection to the family who founded Clarks in 1825.

A permanent gallery, temporary exhibitions, a research library and an education room for school visits will be incorporated into the museum.