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Many visitors, the exhibition may bring back recollections of getting measured for their very first pair of childhood footwear on a rather chilly metal gauge. For others, the displays of pristine Wallabee shoes and desert-style footwear may bring to mind youthful obsessions with US hip-hop or British music movements.

Recollections will also return vividly for many local people whose relatives made the brand’s footwear for decades, as the box-fresh Footwear Heritage Center welcomes visitors in the Somerset village of this historic location.

Nicky Dowding said that some guests may be surprised at how far this quintessentially UK brand, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary in this year, spread across the globe. “At home, Clarks is often linked with school shoes, but among fans across the world it’s viewed in very different ways,” she added.

Hundreds of examples of shoes are on display, with some cabinets resembling bright, abstract pieces of art. Dowding mentioned that a significant number were kept in archives: “One of the major jobs we’ve had while developing the museum is essentially what do we put on display? Which stories do we want to share? Because there is just so much.”

Enthusiasts of urban music and the TV series the acclaimed show are likely to head straight to the displays of the iconic shoes, created in the 1960s, and inspired by the moccasin.

The Wallabee was initially seen as too unconventional in the UK but proved hugely popular in the US and was adopted by members of the NYC hip-hop band the renowned collective, who sported them, wrote about them, and included them in art work.

In later years, these shoes had a featured role in the first episode of Breaking Bad when Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned illicit drug manufacturer, wore a set, along with unflattering white underwear.

Another key feature of the museum is its account of the desert boot, influenced by the journeys of a company family member to Myanmar and the subcontinent during the second world war. They grew into a favourite of the 1960s subculture in the Britain and were also adopted passionately by the famous brothers.

The company’s religious originators may have been surprised that their enterprise became such a popular choice among celebrities.

The first display in the gallery is a simple pair of house shoes made from scraps of a sheepskin rug around 1825. The museum describes how the business rapidly grew into one of the most important in the Southwest England, and how the family did good works in the region and beyond.

A family descendant, head of the charity that preserves and promotes the brand story, said the business prospered because of its Quaker roots. “Among the Quaker testimonies is truth, and that means that you’re very transparent in all your dealings,” she stated. “Everyone trusted them. The household made some profit through the business. This enabled them to become charitable and campaign for votes for women. They were involved in the fight against enslavement in the US.”

A business archivist said his preferred section of the new museum was a set of equipment from the desert boot manufacturing process, which was located at the Bushacre factory. The facility closed a 25 years ago and the boots are now made in the Asia.

He commented: “The majority of the people that operated on that production line did so for decades.” An employee was nicknamed after the ballet dancer because he worked so quickly and efficiently between the two machines he operated. “The employees were so proficient at what they did.”

If the casual shoes and Desert Boots will appeal to enthusiasts, detailed replicas of Clarks shoe shops will bring back memories for many more people.

The museum’s director said: “In my view, people will be able to see their own stories in the museum. Visitors will recall having their feet measured on the device so that their initial footwear were properly fitted. It was a ritual, a milestone.”

Among the cases features her daughter’s first shoe, with a instant photo of her in the store. “It’s precious to me,” she remarked. “It opens up a treasure trove of memories.”