SOMERSET will be getting a new museum run by the Alfred Gillett Trust, a heritage charity based in Street.

The new museum will focus on displaying a vast collection of museum objects and archive material ranging from 200-million-year-old fossils to 200-years of shoemaking and Clarks shoes.

Since the Trust opened their doors in 2012, they have provided access to this remarkable collection through exhibitions and loans to other museums including the London Transport Museum, as well as through academic and research partnerships.

In 2019 the Trust secured ownership of the historic collection about the history of Clarks shoes and is now planning a new museum to open by 2025 at the Grange, adjacent to Clarks Village, to make these available to the public.

This will create a community hub and visitor experience celebrating the rich social and industrial history of shoemaking via three new galleries which will be just as much about people as they are about shoes and shoemaking.

A spokesperson said: "Our internationally significant ichthyosaur fossils will remain in their current location at the Grange, which will be refurbished to open up this fascinating collection as part of the new museum offer, and will be on permanent display to the public."

Award-winning architects, Purcell, will redevelop the Grade II Listed Grange site in keeping with the landscape and history of the area, with the planning application now submitted.

Sought after exhibition designers, Nissen Richards Studio will deliver the gallery experiences, creating amazing spaces that are thought provoking, inspirational, enjoyable and fun.

Rosie Martin, director of the Alfred Gillett Trust said, “We are delighted that this amazing collection will be open to the public, adding to Somerset’s rich and large array of iconic visitor attractions, as well as opening up our gardens for all to enjoy.”

To find out more about this project: https://alfredgilletttrust.org/a-new-museum-in-street.

A free exhibition about this project will be opening shortly at the Grange, sign up to their newsletter or follow them on socials to stay in the loop @agtsomerset