Derwent Pencil Museum

The Derwent Pencil Museum
The Derwent Pencil Museum
Established 1981
Location Southey Works, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5NG
Coordinates 54°36′14″N 3°08′31″W / 54.6040°N 3.1419°W / 54.6040; -3.1419
Visitors 80,000
Owner Derwent
Website derwentart.com

The Derwent Pencil Museum is in Keswick, Cumbria, in the north-west of England.

History

The museum opened in 1981[1] and is home to the biggest colouring pencil in the world, the idea of technical manager Barbara Murray. The yellow pencil was completed on 28 May 2001, is 7.91 metres (26 ft) long, and weighs 446.36 kilograms (984.1 lb).[2]

The first pencil factory in Keswick opened in 1832. The second and current factory was started in the 1920s and completed in 1950 (it closed in 2007 when the owners moved production to Workington).[3]

The museum now receives over 80,000 visitors a year from all around the world. It is particularly popular with visitors from the county of Yorkshire, due to the importance of pencil production for the local economy during the 1930s. The museum features as one of the locations in the 2012 film Sightseers.[4]

Storm Desmond

In December 2015, the museum was badly damaged by several feet of flood water when the River Greta broke its banks as a result of Storm Desmond[1] and many artefacts were destroyed. Although many of the exhibits were salvaged, one limited edition collection could not be replaced.[5]

The museum reopened to the public on 15 June 2017 [1] with Countryfile's John Craven cutting the ribbon.[5]

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See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Popular Cumbrian pencil museum to reopen | Border - ITV News". 2017-12-14. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  2. ↑ "The UK's oddest days out". BBC News Magazine. 15 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "End of an era at pencil factory". BBC News. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Movie review: Sightseers, Hitchcock meets Leigh in grisly, giggly horror | The Independent". 2017-12-14. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  5. 1 2 "John Craven will officially reopen Keswick's pencil museum | News & Star". 2017-12-14. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-14.

Coordinates: 54°36′17″N 3°08′31″W / 54.6046°N 3.1419°W / 54.6046; -3.1419


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