Lance Clark

{{Short description|English shoemaker and businessman (1936–2018)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Lancelot P. Clark | image =  | alt =  | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|04|30|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Street, Somerset]], United Kingdom | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|02|27|1936|04|30|df=y}} | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Shoemaker and businessman | years_active = | known_for = Majority owner of [[C. & J. Clark|Clarks]] shoes | notable_works = }}

'''Lancelot Pease Clark''' (30 April 1936 – 27 February 2018),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/FF8soczfFzHVgjkfQitsWt_RGXk/appointments|title=Lancelot Pease CLARK - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)|website=beta.companieshouse.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref> was an English shoemaker, businessman, and member of the Clark family, which is the majority owner of shoe retailer [[C. & J. Clark|Clarks]] which they had founded in the 1820s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://nuk-rich-list-ui-2017-uk-prod.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/richlist/view/group35#profile-7|title=The Sunday Times Rich List 2017|website=nuk-rich-list-ui-2017-uk-prod.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314095217/http://nuk-rich-list-ui-2017-uk-prod.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/richlist/view/group35#profile-7|archive-date=2018-03-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Career == Clark was born in [[Street, Somerset]], into the sixth generation of the Clarks [[shoemaking]] family.<ref name=":0" />

He was educated at [[Leighton Park School]] and [[New College, Oxford]]. While working in the family business, he was managing director of Clarks UK, prior to the business being placed under non-family management.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://lancelotclark.com/about/|title=About Lance Clark and his love of art - Lancelot Clark|work=Lancelot Clark|access-date=2018-02-15|language=en-GB|archive-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216025218/http://lancelotclark.com/about/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He is credited with the creation of the [[Wallabee]] shoe in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://magnetmagazine.com/2010/03/17/miles-kuroskys-silver-lining-clarks-wallabees/|title=Miles Kurosky's Silver Lining: Clarks Wallabees – Magnet Magazine|website=magnetmagazine.com|date=17 March 2010 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> After retiring from Clarks, Clark went on to work with the [[Edward Green Shoes|Edward Green]] and [[Vivobarefoot|Terra Plana]] shoe brands.

As of 2017, the Clark family still owned more than 80 per cent of the company, according to ''[[The Sunday Times]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Lancelot Clark's branch of the family collectively owned about 25 per cent.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/markets/article/clarks-takes-first-steps-to-store-closures-h7fc2h950|title=Clarks takes first steps to store closures|first=Deirdre|last=Hipwell|date=2017-02-22|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=2018-02-15|language=en|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

In 2008, Clark set up ethical footwear brand Soul of Africa, which raises money for South African orphans who have lost their parents to [[AIDS]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jun/07/retail.aids|title=Quaker cobbler puts soul into sole|last=Butler|first=Sarah|date=2008-06-06|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref>

== Personal life == Based in Street, Somerset, for much of his life, Clark was a painter. He had seven children in total.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=}}

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Lancelot}} [[Category:1936 births]] [[Category:2018 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]] [[Category:People from Street, Somerset]]