Visitors 80,000 Phone +44 17687 73626 | Website www.pencilmuseum.co.uk | |
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Location Southey Works, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5NG Address Carding Mill Ln, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5NG, UK Hours Open today · 9AM–4:30PMMonday9AM–4:30PMTuesday9AM–4:30PMWednesday9AM–4:30PMThursday9AM–4:30PMFriday9AM–4:30PMSaturday10AM–4PMSundayClosed Owner Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company Similar Honister Slate Mine, Castlerigg stone circle, Cat Bells, Derwentwater, Theatre by the Lake Profiles | ||
The cumberland pencil museum
The Cumberland Pencil Museum is in Keswick, Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It is home to the biggest colouring pencil in the world, the idea of technical manager Barbara Murray. It was completed on 28 May 2001, is 7.91 metres (26 ft) long, and weighs 446.36 kilograms (984.1 lb).
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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). The museum opened in 1981, and 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. It has been frequented recently by local 'stars', such as singer and lyricist John Bennett.