The Armitt Library
FOUNDED 1912
Background
The Armitt Museum and Library was founded in 1912, incorporating Ambleside Book Society, founded in 1828. It is a unique place combining museum, gallery and library. It was founded by Mary Louisa Armitt to celebrate the remarkable flowering of intellectual and artistic pursuits associated with Ambleside and its locale; an area where landscape and culture are inextricably entwined. It encapsulates all that is best about Lakeland and its people and preserves that essence for future generations to enjoy. The Lake District has attracted and held some remarkable talents: William Wordsworth, Thomas de Quincey, Robert Southey, John Ruskin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Beatrix Potter and the internationally renowned modernist artist Kurt Schwitters, all of whom are now household names. But there are others, less well known but who made a profound impact in their day: the political economist and social reformer Harriet Martineau, the pioneering educationalist Charlotte Mason, the brilliant Collingwoods, father and son, Hardwicke Rawnsley poet, conservationist and co-founder of the National Trust and the learned Armitt sisters after one of whom, Mary Louisa Armitt, Ambleside's Museum and Library is named. Many of these people are commemorated here at the Armitt, a living memorial to the lives and labours of this remarkable community.
Collection
The library of over 11,000 books covers the social and natural history of the Lake District and particularly the area around Ambleside. The intellectual life of the area is reflected in works by Wordsworth, Harriet Martineau, Ruskin, the Armitt sisters, Charlotte Mason and many others. There is an excellent collection of early guides to the Lakes, an impressive holding of etchings by William Green, over 300 natural history watercolours by Beatrix Potter and an extensive collection of local photographs by Herbert Bell. The museum holds the artefacts from the local Roman fort and is developing its archive of material relating to the artist Kurt Schwitters.
Building
The building of local stone and slate was designed by Hutchinson Associates and was built by Lowther Construction in 1997. It is situated in the grounds of St Martin's College (formerly Charlotte Mason College) within the Ambleside conservation area.
Contact
Faye Morrissey, Manager and Curator
Rydal Road, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9BL
tel: 01539 431 212 / email: info@armitt.com
Access
April-October: Wednesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm
November-March: Wednesday-Saturday, 10:30am-4:30pm (closed from Christmas-February half term)
Membership not required, entrance fee to visit the museum and library applies - see website for more details.
Open to all, consultation of certain books and archival materials is by appointment only.
Website
www.armitt.com
Status
Registered charity no 1054762