{{Short description|Museum in Somerset, England}} {{for|the museum in Marikina, Philippines|Marikina Shoe Museum}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
'''The Shoe Museum''' in [[Street, Somerset|Street]], Somerset, England closed to the public on 27th September 2019.
C &J Clark opened the Shoe Museum in 1974 in the oldest part of the factory building in Street. Admission was free and attracted some 45,000 visitors a year<ref name=":0" />
[[Clarks (shoe retailer)|C&J Clark Ltd and the Clark family]] started making slippers, shoes and boots in the town in the 1820s and the company grew, introducing mechanised processes in the 1860s.<ref name="scott">{{cite book |title=The hidden places of Somerset |last=Scott |first=Shane |year=1995 |publisher=Travel Publishing Ltd |location=Aldermaston |isbn=1-902007-01-8 |page=82 }}</ref> Production continued until after 2000 when it was moved off-shore, using third party factories, predominantly located in Asia. In the 19th century, in line with the family's Quaker values, the capital was also extended beyond the factory to benefit social initiatives in Street: a school was founded so that young men and women could combine working in the factory with continuing their education, a [[Strode Theatre|theatre]] was opened, a library was built, along with an open-air swimming pool, known as Greenbank, and town hall.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Cavendish|first1=Richard|title=The Shoe Museum|journal=History Today|date=1995|volume=45|issue=6|url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/shoe-museum}}</ref> The company still has its headquarters in Street, behind a frontage which includes the clock tower and water tower,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1058755 |title=Main roadside frontage to Clarks Factory, Clock Tower, 5 bay right return and Water Tower |accessdate=23 March 2008 |work=historicengland.org.uk }}</ref> In 1993 the redundant factory buildings were converted to form [[Clarks Village]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Street|url=http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk/explore-somerset/towns-and-villages/street-p500233|publisher=Visit Somerset|accessdate=6 June 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130505091136/http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk/explore-somerset/towns-and-villages/street-p500233|archivedate=5 May 2013}}</ref>
The Shoe Museum closed to the public on 27 September 2019, and its artefacts were transferred to the ownership of the Alfred Gillett Trust.<ref name="somersetlive-20190926">{{cite news |last=D'Albiac |first=Stephen |date=26 September 2019 |title=Clarks Shoe Museum in Street to close after nearly 70 years |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/shoe-museum-clarks-village-close-3361942 |access-date=7 November 2020 |website=SomersetLive |publisher=Reach}}</ref> In September 2023, planning permission was granted to the Alfred Gillett Trust to build a new Museum called Shoemakers Museum at The Grange,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harcombe |first=Chloe |date=23 September 2023 |title=Somerset museum to showcase history of Clarks shoemakers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-66880683 |website=BBC News}}</ref> a Grade II [[listed building]], making the collections accessible to the public. The new brick building with a contemporary design created by Purcell Architects joins the [[Georgian era|Georgian]] Grange manor house, to a barn with [[Middle Ages|medieval]] origins.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Highfield |first=Anna |date=2 October 2023 |title=Purcell wins approval for £6 million Shoemakers Museum in Somerset |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/purcell-wins-approval-for-6-million-shoemakers-museum-in-somerset |access-date=31 October 2025 |website=The Architects’ Journal |language=en}}</ref> The new museum opened in September 2025, alongside the Shoemaker's Cafe which brings the manor house into use alongside the new museum buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Godwin |first=Emily |date=18 September 2025 |title=New museum opens to celebrate 200 years of shoemaking |url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2025/09/new-museum-opens-to-celebrate-200-years-of-shoemaking/ |access-date=31 October 2025 |website=Museums Association |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Concealed shoes]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150716045604/https://www.the-shoe-museum.org/ The Shoe Museum] (archived 16 July 2015) *[https://alfredgilletttrust.org/ Alfred Gillett Trust]
{{Shoe Museums}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoe Museum, The}} [[Category:Museums in Somerset]] [[Category:Shoe museums]] [[Category:Street, Somerset]] [[Category:Grade II listed museum buildings]]