Museums · North West England
Derwent Pencil Museum
In or near Braithwaite.
Derwent Pencil Museum — museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Best time of year
- Year-round
- Nearest railway station
- Threlkeld Quarry · 6.3 km
- Paid entry
- Family-friendly
- Wheelchair accessible
About
Derwent Pencil Museum is a museum in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1981. Wikidata describes it as: "museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, UK". Coordinates: 54.6046°, -3.1419°.
Photo gallery
See it from the streetimagery from 2023
Imagery © Mapillary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Official information
The Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick showcases the history of the pencil industry, featuring a replica graphite mine and various exhibits. Visitors can explore unique items such as the world's largest color pencil and secret WW2 pencils with hidden maps.
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Derwent and Tributaries SSSI
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
The Derwent Pencil Museum is a museum dedicated to the manufacturing and history of pencils, located in Keswick, in the north-west of England.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The first pencil factory, owned by the Cumberland Pencil Company, opened in Keswick 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. 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 7.91 m long, and weighs 446.36 kg. In addition, the museum features a replica of a Seathwaite graphite mine. 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…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 54.6046, -3.1419
- District
- Cumberland
- Parish
- Keswick
- Postcode
- CA12 5NG
- Parliamentary constituency
- Penrith and Solway
- Phone
- 01768 773626
- Established
- 1981
- Annual visitors
- ~80,000/year
- Nearest railway station
- Threlkeld Quarry — 6.3 km
- Opening
- Daily 9:30am–5:00pm; last admission 4:00pm
- Official site
- www.derwentart.com
Sources
- wikidata: Q5193935 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Derwent Pencil Museum (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: The newlook Pencil Museum in Keswick.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Derwent Pencil Museum?
- Derwent Pencil Museum is in the Scottish Lowlands, United Kingdom (postcode CA12 5NG), in the parish of Keswick.
- What is Derwent Pencil Museum?
- Derwent Pencil Museum — museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, UK.
- How do I get to Derwent Pencil Museum?
- The nearest railway station is Threlkeld Quarry, about 6.3 km away. Drivers can use postcode CA12 5NG.
- When was Derwent Pencil Museum built?
- Built or established in 1981.
- Who owns Derwent Pencil Museum?
- Derwent Pencil Museum is owned by | publictransit =.
- Is Derwent Pencil Museum a protected site?
- Yes — Derwent Pencil Museum is part of the River Derwent and Tributaries SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- How do I get to Derwent Pencil Museum?
- The nearest railway station is Threlkeld Quarry, about 6.3 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode CA12 5NG.
- How busy is Derwent Pencil Museum?
- Derwent Pencil Museum draws around 80,000 visitors a year.