Somerset’s newest attraction combines centuries of shoemaking heritage with educational opportunities, offering schools access to rare Clarks artefacts, fossil displays, and interactive learning experiences in the village where the famous footwear brand began.
The new Shoemakers Museum is inviting schools to immerse their students in history, from 200 million years ago, to 200 years ago.
Open this month, the museum in Street, Somerset, explores the history of footwear through immersive galleries and untold stories from the village where Clarks began.
Shoemakers Museum houses hundreds of never-before-seen objects - from sheepskin slippers to desert boots, school shoes to Britpop stagewear.
More than a museum about shoes, it is a story about people - the makers, designers, wearers and communities who built a global business from a small Quaker village.
Resources for schools include handling boxes, history trails, interactives, talks, tours and a dedicated education learning space.
Set within a striking new building, Shoemakers Museum combines a 16th century manor house, a 17th century barn and a modern glass extension to house four permanent galleries. Groups can expect to see original artwork, prototypes, promotional films and rarely seen archive material which bring the Clarks story to life.
School resources
In the 200-years that have passed since the creation of Clarks shoes first Petersburg slipper, the world has seen trends in footwear come and go, and come again.
Schools will be able to access:
- First hand sources: objects, images, fascinating stories.
- Hands-on learning: handling boxes and interactive activities.
- Stories, subjects and connections: explore a wide range of subjects, 200m year fossils, 200 years of history.
- Education room, galleries and quiet corridor booths to study and reflect.
- Garden, orchard and outdoor space.
- Education room and family-friendly café room.
- Car parking is included in the ticket price. Coach parking is available by arrangement
An unexpected twist
School groups will also be able to see an internationally significant display of marine reptile fossils found in the layer of rock that runs under the Clarks factories.
Some of these remains were unearthed during a boom in factory and housing construction while others were collected by Clarks family member Alfred Gillett.
Rosie Martin, director of Shoemakers Museum, said: “This is a museum about people - their craft, their community and the shoes that became part of life’s biggest milestones. Whether you remember your first Clarks or you’re discovering their story for the first time, we can’t wait to welcome you.”
For more information visit www.shoemakersmuseum.org.uk
