In an exciting new development, Mountain Heritage Trust (MHT) has forged a new partnership with Keswick Museum. It will mean that MHT will have room to display their unique, fascinating and growing collection in rotation.

MHT Archivist Maxine Willett said:

"We are thrilled and excited to be a part of this venture and very much look forward to working with all partners in enticing visitors to the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery. We look forward to designing stimulating and thought provoking exhibitions which will appeal to local inhabitants and those from farther afield. The collections held by MHT have a strong connection with Keswick and the Lake District and it is wonderful to have an opportunity to showcase them."

The partnership is part of a much larger project that will help secure the future of the Keswick Museum and includes a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid by the Museum that totals £1.25 million. 

Full text of Keswick Museum's press release
After six years of hard work, the staff and volunteers at Keswick Museum and Art Gallery were delighted to announce this week that they have been successful in their grant bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The award from the Heritage Lottery Fund totals £1.25 million and will help secure a future for the Museum, as well as giving the building much-needed facilities. These facilities will include a cafe, toilets, a disabled lift and a shop. The museum and gallery function will also be enhanced with upgraded and extra exhibition spaces as well as a redisplayed Victorian ‘museum within a museum’.

Tricia Kerr, Chair of Keswick Museum and Art Gallery Management Limited - a board of local people who run the Museum on behalf of Allerdale Borough Council - said:

‘This wonderful award is the culmination of a number of year’s hard work by many people. It is thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment firstly of the Friends of Keswick Museum and Art Gallery who have kept the museum open and running successfully, and secondly to the organisations who have ably assisted us in getting this grant. These organisations include Keswick Area Partnership, the North Pennines Heritage Trust, the Mountain Heritage Trust, the Keswick Business and Education Centre, as well as Allerdale Borough Council who have whole heartedly supported the bid. With this help from the Heritage Lottery Fund we will ensure Keswick Museum and Art Gallery’s future as a dynamic cultural asset to Keswick and Cumbria.’

Sara Hilton the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Head of Region, North West said:

‘We are delighted to be able to support a project which will benefit local people in Keswick and visitors to the area. The project will repair an important building and bring two great collections together.’

As well as showcasing Keswick Museum and Art Gallery’s collection, the Museum has forged a partnership with the Mountain Heritage Trust who, as part of the scheme, will have a room in the Museum to display their unique and fascinating collection in rotation. Maxine Willett on behalf of the Mountain Heritage Trust said:

‘We are thrilled and excited to be a part of this venture and very much look forward to working with all partners in enticing visitors to the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery. We look forward to designing stimulating and thought provoking exhibitions which will appeal to local inhabitants and those from farther afield. The collections held by MHT have a strong connection with Keswick and the Lake District and it is wonderful to have an opportunity to showcase them.’

As well as upgrading the present Victorian building, the Museum will also benefit from an extension as part of the project. This extension will provide the Museum with a new entrance, shop space and a staircase. This exciting new piece of architecture will also allow visitors to see right through the building, across the Cricket Ground to the fells beyond.

On behalf of the local community, Keswick Ward Councillor and former Major Ron Mumby commented that:

‘I am absolutely delighted for the Museum and in particular to all those who have worked so hard in achieving this fantastic result which means that the Museum is assured a long-term future’.

Keswick Museum and Art Gallery has had a very busy season this year and is in line to break all records for visitors and donations by the time it closes for the winter at the end of this month.

Keswick Museum and Art Gallery is open from Tuesday – Saturday 10am-4pm and is free to all.

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