🔗 Share this article

For some patrons, the museum may stir up recollections of getting measured for their very first pair of childhood footwear on a rather chilly metal gauge. For others, the displays of pristine Wallabee shoes and desert-style footwear may recall youthful obsessions with US hip-hop or British music movements.

Nostalgic moments will also flood back for numerous residents whose families made Clarks shoes for decades, as the box-fresh Footwear Heritage Center welcomes visitors in the Somerset village of this historic location.

Nicky Dowding commented that some visitors may be astonished at how far this quintessentially UK brand, which is marking its bicentennial year in 2025, spread across the globe. “At home, Clarks is often linked with school shoes, but among audiences across the world it’s perceived in very different ways,” she added.

Dozens of pairs of footwear are on display, with some showcases resembling vibrant, modern pieces of contemporary art. Dowding mentioned that many more were in storage: “Among the biggest jobs we’ve had while creating the museum is essentially what do we put on display? Which narratives do we want to share? Since there is just so much.”

Enthusiasts of hip-hop and the crime drama the acclaimed show are likely to head straight to the examples of Wallabees, created in the 1960s, and inspired by the moccasin.

The this style was at first considered too unconventional in the UK but turned out to be immensely successful in the US and was championed by members of the NYC hip-hop band the renowned collective, who sported them, rapped about them, and included them in album covers.

More recently, these shoes had a featured role in the first episode of Breaking Bad when the main character, the science instructor turned crystal meth manufacturer, wore a pair, together with unflattering white briefs.

Another highlight of the exhibit is its account of the Desert Boot, influenced by the travels of a Clarks family member to Burma and the subcontinent during the World War II. They became a staple of the 1960s subculture in the UK and were also adopted passionately by Liam and Noel Gallagher.

The company’s religious originators may have been surprised that their brand became such a popular choice among celebrities.

The inaugural display in the museum is a simple pair of house shoes made from offcuts of a sheepskin rug around 1825. The exhibition details how the company quickly expanded into one of the most important in the Southwest England, and how the founders did philanthropic deeds in the region and beyond.

Cato Pedder, chair of the trust that preserves and promotes the Clarks story, explained the firm prospered because of its ethical foundations. “One of the Quaker testimonies is honesty, and that means that you’re very transparent in all your transactions,” she added. “Everyone trusted them. The family made some money through the business. This allowed them to become charitable and campaign for suffrage. They were involved in the fight against enslavement in the US.”

Tim Crumplin said his favourite part of the new museum was a collection of equipment from the desert boot production line, which was based at the Bushacre factory. The facility shut down a quarter of a century ago and the boots are now made in the Asia.

Crumplin commented: “The majority of the people that operated on that line worked there for decades.” One worker was nicknamed Nureyev because he moved so swiftly and gracefully between the two machines he worked on. “The employees were so skilled at what they did.”

If the casual shoes and boots will attract enthusiasts, detailed replicas of Clarks shoe shops will bring back nostalgia for a broader range of people.

Rosie Martin observed: “I think, people will be able to see their own stories in the museum. Visitors will remember having their feet measured on the gauge so that their initial footwear were properly sized. It was a ceremony, a rite of passage.”

Among the displays features her child’s first shoe, with a Polaroid photo of her in the store. “It’s precious to me,” she said. “It unlocks a treasure trove of memories.”