Derwent Pencil Museum
.jpg) The Derwent Pencil Museum | |
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| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | Southey Works, Keswick, CA12 5NG |
| Coordinates | 54°36′14″N 3°08′31″W / 54.6040°N 3.1419°W |
| Visitors | 80,000 |
| Owner | Derwent |
| Website | derwentart.com |
The Derwent Pencil Museum is in Keswick, in the north-west of England.
History
[edit]The first pencil factory in Keswick opened in 1832. The second and current factory was started in the 1920s and completed in 1950 and closed in 2007 when production was moved to Workington.[1]
The museum opened in 1981[2] and is home to one of the biggest colouring pencils 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).[3]
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The Pencil Museum in Keswick -
Lakeland pencils at the Pencil Museum -
The tip of the world's largest pencil.
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The museum featured in a 1997 episode of the BBC educational children's television series Come Outside.[4]
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.[5]
Storm Desmond
[edit]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[2] and many artefacts were destroyed. Although many of the exhibits were salvaged, one limited-edition collection could not be replaced.[6]
The museum reopened to the public on 15 June 2017,[2] with Countryfile presenter John Craven cutting the ribbon.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "End of an era at pencil factory". BBC News. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ a b c "Popular Cumbrian pencil museum to reopen". ITV News. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "The UK's oddest days out". BBC News Magazine. 15 September 2013.
- ^ "Come Outside: Pencils". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Movie review: Sightseers, Hitchcock meets Leigh in grisly, giggly horror". The Independent. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ a b "John Craven will officially reopen Keswick's pencil museum". News and Star. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
External links
[edit]- Derwent Pencil Museum - official site
54°36′17″N 3°08′31″W / 54.6046°N 3.1419°W
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