By Marcus Boothe

Copyright bbc

It was not all plain sailing at the start. Ten years after the Clark brothers recorded those promising early sales, the business was hit, like many factory-based ones were, by a recession.

It was at this point Cyrus and James’ cousin – William Clark – took over.

The close ties of the local Quaker community proved fruitful, as the family was introduced to the potential of using machinery to speed up production, replacing the traditional hand-making processes.

The identity of Clarks as a Somerset company was further strengthened when William Clark paid for new housing for his firm’s workers.

And it was not just the men who took a leading role in the issues of the day. Helen and Esther Clark marched from North Petherton to Bridgwater in 1913, lending their voices to the campaign for women to get the vote.

Schools and libraries were built as well as housing, as the Clark family continued to spend money for the benefit of the people living around its base in Street.