The Derwent Pencil Museum is in
Keswick, in the north-west of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
History
The museum opened in 1981
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 long, and weighs .
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
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Loca ...
).
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
''Sightseers'' is a 2012 British black comedy film directed by Ben Wheatley and written by and starring Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, with additional material written by co-editor Amy Jump.
It is produced by Edgar Wright and Nira Park, among other ...
''.
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
Storm Desmond was an extratropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season, notable for directing a plume of moist air, known as an atmospheric river, which brought record amounts of orographic rainfall to ...
and many artefacts were destroyed. Although many of the exhibits were salvaged, one limited-edition collection could not be replaced.
The museum reopened to the public on 15 June 2017,
with ''
Countryfile
''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom.
The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, T ...
'' presenter
John Craven
John Raymond Craven, (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', ''Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''.
Early life
Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...
cutting the ribbon.
.
See also
*
Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company
Derwent (formerly the "Cumberland Pencil Company") is a brand of pencils, art materials, and other stationery. The business began in 1832 in Cumberland under the name of "Banks, Son & Co". The company was bought by US corporation ACCO Brands (kno ...
*
Sightseers
''Sightseers'' is a 2012 British black comedy film directed by Ben Wheatley and written by and starring Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, with additional material written by co-editor Amy Jump.
It is produced by Edgar Wright and Nira Park, among other ...
References
External links
Derwent Pencil Museum- official site
Museums in Cumbria
Industry museums in England
Pencils
Tourist attractions in Cumbria
Keswick, Cumbria
Industrial archaeological sites in England
{{UK-museum-stub