Purcell's Shoemakers Museum in Street takes Supreme Award at 2026 Brick Awards

The Shoemakers Museum in Street, Somerset, designed by Purcell for the Alfred Gillett Trust, has won the Supreme Award at the 2026 Brick Awards, along with the Public and Sustainability categories.

Purcell announced the three wins on 6 November. The Brick Development Association (BDA), which runs the awards, held its 50th anniversary ceremony on 4 November at the Royal Lancaster London.

The museum opened in September 2025 and marks 200 years of Clarks' shoemaking in Street. Purcell said the scheme brings together a 16th-century manor house, a 17th-century barn and a new brick extension.

Alasdair Ferguson, Senior Architect at Purcell, said: "Here, we really wanted to start with the people and tell the stories of the craftsmen and craftswomen who have made shoes in Street over the last 200 years."

The brickwork

Purcell said the facade takes its cues from shoemaking techniques, including broguing, perforations and stitching, and was delivered with Northcot Brick and A. Willmott Brickwork. The BDA's craftsmanship entry says projecting headers suggest stitching, while perforated bonds reference the holes on brogues.

According to the BDA, the bespoke Grange Blend from Northcot Brick comprises 60% wirecut and 40% Bourton Manor handmade specials. The corbelled eaves step outward in 13 courses, and the bricklayers achieved the facade effects using only 13 standard specials. The BDA said the corbelled section wrapping the north facade was completed in 13 days.

The BDA's sustainability entry says the brickwork contractor is based in Street. All brickwork is set in NHL 3.5 lime mortar, which the BDA said allows disassembly and reuse at the end of the building's life.

The Brick Awards judges said the project was delivered within a challenging budget and programme and used locally sourced brick and reclaimed stone. In the BDA's Supreme Award citation, the judges said the building brought together heritage, material quality and environmental responsibility.

Rob Flello, Chief Executive of the Brick Development Association, said: "The project demonstrates how clay brick can be used to celebrate a building's heritage while creating something contemporary and distinctive."

Sustainability figures

Purcell said more than 70% of the site's Blue Lias stone was salvaged and reused, alongside locally sourced materials and timber construction techniques. The BDA entry says the structural frame is cross-laminated timber with glulam columns and beams.

The BDA reported that the building achieved LETI A, with an EPC rating of A-3, and is designed for a 100-year life.

Embodied carbon measure	kgCO2eq/m2
Upfront (A1-5)	212
Whole-life	352

Purcell separately said, in its June announcement of the Trust's AJ100 Client of the Year award, that energy modelling showed the enlarged photovoltaic array would meet 100 per cent of the museum's peak energy demands.

The client

The Alfred Gillett Trust is based at the Grange in Street and, according to its own website, has opened its collections to the public since 2012. The Trust said it bought the heritage collections of C & J Clark in 2021, and that the museum project was supported by a donation from the estate of Nathan Clark, great-grandson of co-founder James Clark.

The Trust's holdings extend beyond footwear: it said its fossil collection includes 18 near-complete ichthyosaurs, a plesiosaur and more than 180 smaller specimens.

Purcell said the museum opened to the public on 18 September 2025 with a collection of more than 25,000 shoes, displayed across four permanent galleries. Rosie Martin, Director of the Shoemakers Museum, said at the time that the building was unique and beautiful.

Purcell announced the Trust's AJ100 Client of the Year award on 25 June 2026, when the practice was placed seventh on the AJ100 list for the second year running.