Clarks Village
Encyclopedia
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...
in the English county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. The centre includes more than 90 shops. There are also coffee shops, refreshment stalls and a dining area shared by fast food chains , mostly selling goods at a discount to high street prices.
It is sited in the redundant factory buildings of C&J Clark
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
which was established in the village during the 19th century when Cyrus Clark started a business in sheepskin rugs, later joined by his brother James, who introduced the production of woollen slipper
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
s and, later, boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s and shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s. but shoes are no longer manufactured there.
The Shoe Museum
The Shoe Museum
The Shoe Museum in Street, Somerset, England exhibits shoes dating from the Roman era to the present day.It shows the history of the Clark family and their company C&J Clark and its connection with the development of shoemaking in the town....
, which is a short distance from Clarks Village, provides a wealth of information about the history of Clarks and footwear manufacture in general, and a selection of shop display showcards from the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s, and television advertisements. The frontage of the shoe museum includes the clock tower and water tower.
The site is owned by the Hermes Real Estate group and managed by REALM Ltd,
who also manage a number of other outlet centres in the United Kingdom.