Museums and galleries across the UK are subject to temporary closures. Those that remain open have safety measures in place, please remember to check venue guidelines before visiting.

The Ruskin Museum

Temporarily closed

Cumbria

50% off entry

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

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

The Ruskin Museum,

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

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

About

The Ruskin Museum is temporarily closed until further notice. Please check the venue's website for the latest details.

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.

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.