BLUEBELLS Spring is here, with bluebells blooming all over Cumbria. This month we’ve chosen these gorgeous pictures of bluebells from our photography collection – unfortunately they are unnamed and undated, but they show the beautiful colour of the flowers in spring....
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH To celebrate women who fought for the right to vote, this month’s object is this photo of suffragist Amy Sharp, who lived in Ambleside and Skelwith Bridge in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, becoming a...
Valentine’s Day – GP Abraham’s postcard of a couple Happy Valentine’s Day! We are marking the occasion with this postcard of a (hopefully) happy couple, photographed by GP Abraham. George Perry Abraham was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, in 1846. He began his career as a...
ROMAN BELL FOUND IN AMBLESIDE To ring in the New Year, this month we have chosen this Roman bell excavated in Ambleside. This Roman bell has a simple hemispherical shape, with a horizontal line of decoration. It is likely Roman, as the remains of a fort are near...
THE NATIVITY IN THE CURATE'S BIBLE As the year draws to a close and we prepare for the festive season, let’s take a closer look at another object in our collection, the Ambleside Curate’s Bible, turned to the page that describes the Nativity.This is a rare edition of...
LE FLEMING PAINTING BY ROMNEY November’s Object of the Month is a recent acquisition that was added to our collection at the end of last year – a painting of Sir Michael le Fleming (1748-1806) by artist George Romney (1734-1802). The painting is of Sir Michael le...
CHAR DISH This month’s object is associated with a local delicacy – it is this char dish from our pottery collection.Arctic Char (or charr) is a type of freshwater fish found in northern upland areas, including Norway, Scotland, northern England and parts of Wales....
DOBBIN THE ROCKING HORSE When you visit our main library, you’ll find a noble steed having a well-earned rest amongst our bookshelves – Dobbin the rocking horse. Dobbin was potentially made in the mid-nineteenth century. He was originally owned by a lady from Outgate,...
VISITORS BOOK FOR THE SALUTATION INN (1858-1874) At the height of summer we’ve chosen this nineteenth-century visitors book from the Salutation Inn as our Object of the Month. Ambleside became a trading hub in 1650 when it was first granted a charter for a wool market...
FELL RUNNING AT AMBLESIDE SPORTS Our Object of the Month for July is this set of photographs from the 1980s. These pictures, taken by a ‘Mr Hoare’, show fell runners taking part in the introductory Rydal Round race at Ambleside Sports in the summers of 1986 and 1987....
Since the largest industry in the Lake District is now tourism, it can be easy to forget Cumbria’s industrial past when we travel here to enjoy the majestic scenery. Nonetheless, we have many items in The Armitt collection that hearken back to our industrial...