Alfred Gillett Trust Archives
The Hardy Amies influence
Posted on June 30, 2015
Hardy Amies first gained recognition in the fashion business designing women’s clothes. He started training in the 1930s before starting his own business in 1945 and being appointed Dressmaker to H.M. Queen Elizabeth. He was eventually appointed as Design Consultant to the Men’s Division of Clarks in 1962, collaborating with Hugh Brooking Clark. Hugh believed […]
The Dilemmas of Collections Management
Posted on May 28, 2015
These ‘Duskdawn’ shoes were made in 1957, and are from the Skyline collection. This image exemplifies the inevitable consequence of displaying our collection in a museum case. Whilst the shoe on the right hand side has been held in a box away from any light, the shoe on the left has been on display in the museum, and has consequently sustained damage from the light used to illuminate […]
Short hair for girls in the Clark family – can you solve the mystery?
Posted on May 19, 2015 1 Comment
Can you help with a mystery which has been bugging the Trust staff for some time? We have a large collection of photographs relating to the Clark and related families in Street, Somerset. Several of the young girls in the family wore their hair very short in late 19th century, and we have always been curious as […]
Major Exhibition Opens at the Museum of Bath at Work
Posted on April 13, 2015
The World’s Most Travelled Shoe: Celebrating 65 Years of the Desert Boot 10 April – 31 October 2015 Come with us on a journey from Cairo to Burma to Chicago and Jamaica, across Death Valley in California, to 1960s Paris, and Weston-Super-Mare! Clarks has sold more than 10million pairs of Desert Boots in over 100 […]
Digging in the Clarks Archives
Posted on April 9, 2015
Our Research Archivist Tim Crumplin was recently interviewed for the Clarks Originals website and gave a guided tour of our facilities and collections. He explores everything from the importance of archives and the significance of the iconic Desert Boot, to the future aspirations of the Trust. Read the interview here.
Killer Heels
Posted on March 27, 2015 1 Comment
The Alfred Gillett Trust not only takes care of Clarks shoes, but also shoes belonging to many other companies. World War II had a huge impact on footwear fashion through the 1940s, and continued to influence trends during the 1950s. High heels were banned in 1942 as part of the war effort, when there was a restriction on […]
Lions and Buffaloes and Bears
Posted on January 28, 2015
The Alfred Gillett Trust recently acquired a set of three plywood animals which had been used for displays in Peter Lord shoe shops in the 1970s. They make a lovely addition to the shop furnishings and retail display material that we collect alongside the footwear and archive collections.
Eureka is preparing to go on the move for the first time in 150 years…
Posted on January 26, 2015
This week, metal conservator Neil Bollen came to The Grange, Street, to view the Latin Verse Machine in situ and to start getting it ready to transport down to a temporary workshop at the University of Exeter for the Eureka AHRC Project. Neil took the opportunity to secure the various mechanisms and weights against the shaking […]
History of Greenbank Pool, Street goes on display
Posted on July 1, 2014
A series of exhibition panels demonstrating the history of one of Somerset’s few remaining lidos, Greenbank Pool in Street, have recently gone on permanent display. Created using a combination of records and photographs held in the Alfred Gillett Trust Archive and images generously donated by members of the public the panels highlight the history of […]
Shoes on Loan for New Georgian Exhibition
Posted on May 27, 2014
Recently, five shoes from the collections travelled to Bath for installation in the new exhibition at No. 1 Royal Crescent, Portrait of a Lady? Ruin and reputation in the Georgian Era. Of the five, three had been in storage for many years. The shoes were selected by the team at Bath to complement the display […]
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