The Ruskin Museum

Cumbria, LA21 8DU

50% off entry with National Art Pass

National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to over 240 venues across the UK as well as 50% off major exhibitions.

The Ruskin Museum offers an award-winning, thought-provoking 'Open Sesame' into a fascinating Cabinet of Curiosities, crammed full of wonderful objects and paintings, which introduces Coniston's rich cultural and literary heritage.

The Ruskin Museum - © Ruskin Museum, Coniston,

William Gersham Collingwood, John Ruskin in His Study at Brantwood, Cumbria, 1882 - © Ruskin Museum, Coniston

Bluebird K7 on Coniston Water, Cumbria, possibly Christmas Day, 1966 - National Motor Museum / Heritage Images

John Ruskin, Sunset at Herne Hill Through the Smoke of London, 1876 - © Ruskin Museum

The Ruskin Museum

William Gersham Collingwood, John Ruskin in His Study at Brantwood, Cumbria, 1882

Bluebird K7 on Coniston Water, Cumbria, possibly Christmas Day, 1966

National Motor Museum / Heritage Images

John Ruskin, Sunset at Herne Hill Through the Smoke of London, 1876

This museum was the brainchild of Ruskin's secretary and biographer WG Collingwood, who wanted to create a space that would serve as a memorial to the artist, and celebrate the area's heritage. As well as a Ruskin collection – which reveals how the great Victorian critic developed his ideas through drawing – there are exhibits relating to the region's coppermines, slate, geology, lace and farming

Permanent collection

The Bluebird Wing focuses on the 1940s, when Conniston served as a race-track to the hydroplane Speed Aces Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son, Donald Campbell. The wreckage of Donald's K7 from his fatal crash in 1967 is currently undergoing a conservation rebuild, but there are plenty of other artefacts relating to the pilot and his story – including the Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus engine that sat in the lake for 34 years, and Campbell’s pension plan.

Art we’ve helped buy at The Ruskin Museum

The Old Man of Coniston from The Bell - A Winter Study

The Ruskin Museum Acquired 2006

The Ruskin Museum

Art we’ve helped buy at The Ruskin Museum

The Old Man of Coniston from The Bell - A Winter Study

Venue information

Opening times

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