THE REMARKABLE AND EXTENSIVE HERITAGE collections associated with the Clark family and C. & J. Clark Ltd are looked after by the Alfred Gillett Trust. Under the care of a team of professional archivists, who manage and provide access to the collections, this unique archive is now largely open to the public for the first time in its history.
An innovative new building has recently been constructed by the Trust at The Grange in Street, adjacent to the historic Clarks factory building, to house the collections. Accessible as never before, and providing fascinating opportunities for social, historical and business research, this archive represents an exceptional resource of real value and interest. As a major employer, the high profile and presence of Clarks within the locality is reflected in a rich collection which encompasses business history and the history of the Clark family, as well as Quaker history and many aspects of local history.
The business archive is extensive, containing records relating specifically to the commercial activities of C. & J. Clark Ltd and its subsidiary companies, including financial records, annual reports and papers relating to family and non-family directors. Papers of acquired companies such as K Shoes Ltd (Kendal) and John Halliday & Sons (Dundalk, Ireland) are also represented, as well as allied concerns such as the Avalon Leather Board and Clark, Son & Morland. Reflecting Clarks’ position as a major landowner in Street, a significant collection of plans documents the development of the town itself (including workers’ cottages and civic buildings such as the Crispin Hall) as well as factories elsewhere in the southwest and beyond.
The heritage holdings relating to shoes are comprehensive. A full range of Clarks shoe catalogues dating back to 1848 gives an invaluable insight into the development of shoes by the company up to the present day. Similarly, a rich collection of point-of-sale advertising materials illustrates trends in advertising and retail merchandising, with strong holdings from the early 20th century. Over 500 shoemaking machines also form part of the archives, with the earliest dating to the late nineteenth century.
The historic shoe collection forms a focal point, with a small fraction (some 1,500 items) on permanent display in the firm’s Shoe Museum at 40 High Street, Street, including a nineteenth-century facsimile of the firm’s earliest shoe, the 1829 ‘Brown Petersburg’. The Alfred Gillett Trust is responsible for the remainder of the collection held in store, which provides a unique record of Clarks shoes up to the present day. Shoes from elsewhere within the UK and around the world are also represented, with the earliest examples dating from the Roman period. In all, the shoe collection contains nearly 20,000 single shoes, making it one of the finest collections in the UK.
The heritage collections also include a large photographic archive, which documents the history of the Street factory site as well as other Clarks sites across the southwest of England and the development of Street itself. Also available is a rich selection of photographs relating to the Clark family, together with a sizeable collection of nineteenth-century Quaker costume from former family members, as well as family artworks, artefacts and furniture.
Paper-based archive collections include the papers of John Bright MP (1811–89, father-in-law of William Stephens Clark), as well as members of the Clark family and related branches, including the Pease, Hinde and Gillett families. Those branches who lived at Millfield and Whitenights in Street are especially well represented. One unusual part of the family’s papers is The Village Album, compiled by the Clark family literary society. This family group was begun by James and Eleanor Clark in 1856–7, and met several times a year to read wide-ranging ‘Album Pieces’, covering poetry, stories, history, comedy, description, travel writing, philology, satire and natural, family and local history. The tradition still continues in Street to this day and the set of albums now contains nearly 100 volumes.
The Trust also looks after an extensive reference library, which covers the history of Quakerism, Street and environs, fashion and shoemaking.
The heritage collections are open to members of the public by prior appointment. Please contact the Trust for further details:
Alfred Gillett Trust
The Grange
Farm Road
Street
Somerset BA16 0BQ
archives@clarks.com
The Shoe Museum is open during usual office hours, and is situated next to the High Street entrance of C. & J. Clark Ltd:
Shoe Museum
C. & J. Clark Ltd
40 High Street
Street
Somerset BA16 0BE
(01458) 842243