Armitt Library
{{Short description|Museum and library in Cumbria, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
File:Mary Louis Armitt by Frederic Yates from her 1912 Grasmere book.jpg (picture by Frederic Yates)]]
The Armitt Museum, also known as the Armitt Museum and Library, is an independent museum and library, founded in Ambleside in Cumbria by Mary Louisa Armitt in 1909. It is a registered charity under English law.{{EW charity|1054762|ARMITT LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CENTRE}}
History
File:Charlotte Mason 1902 Frederic Yates.jpg - painted in 1902 by Frederic Yates is a painting in the Library's collection]]
The library was founded by a bequest of Mary Louisa Armitt in order that the intellectual activity of Ambleside could be celebrated. The roots of the organisation go back to the Ambleside Book Society which was founded in 1828 and which formed part of the library.[http://independentlibraries.co.uk/directoryatod/the-armitt-library Armitt Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715191900/http://independentlibraries.co.uk/directoryatod/the-armitt-library |date=2014-07-15 }}, independentlibraries.co.uk, retrieved 11 November 2015 On 8 November 1912 the library opened and Hardwicke Rawnsley who was to co-found the National Trust wrote a poem in celebration. The poem starts:
::As in some inland solitude a shell
:::Still gently whispers of its home, the deep,
::So from the world of being beyond all sleep
:::Where those two happy sister spirits dwell...
The "two happy sister spirits" were Mary Louisa Armitt, who died the year before, and her sister Sophia Armitt.[http://armitt.com/armitt_website/canon-rawnsley-armitt-museum-art-gallery-and-library-cumbri/ Canon Rawsley] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204104226/http://armitt.com/armitt_website/canon-rawnsley-armitt-museum-art-gallery-and-library-cumbri/ |date=4 December 2017 }}, Armitt Museum, Retrieved 12 November 2015
Beatrix Potter donated books and paintings in her lifetime, and on her death bequeathed her portfolios of natural history watercolours and her personal copies of her "little books". These are on permanent display in an exhibition Beatrix Potter: Image and Reality.
The current building was constructed in 1997 from slate and stone on the land belonging to St Martin's College (formerly Charlotte Mason College).
The Armitt also houses a collection of works by Kurt Schwitters,[https://artuk.org/search/search/search/keyword:the-armitt-museum-and-library Armitt Library collection of oil paintings], BBC, retrieved 14 July 2014 a German refugee artist who lived and died in Ambleside.
The library of over 11,000 books covers the local and natural history of the Ambleside area and the wider Lake District. It is an important resource for information on notable people connected with the area, including Mary Louisa Armitt, William Wordsworth, Harriet Martineau, John Ruskin, Frederic Yates,[http://armitt.com/armitt_website/fred-yates-armitt-museum-art-gallery-and-library/ Frederick Yates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182709/http://armitt.com/armitt_website/fred-yates-armitt-museum-art-gallery-and-library/ |date=14 July 2014 }}, The Armitt Museum, retrieved 13 July 2014 Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley and Kurt Schwitters.
See also
{{Portal|Cumbria}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.armitt.com Armitt website]
{{Beatrix Potter}}
{{coord|54.4343|-2.9633|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1909 establishments in England
Category:Art museums and galleries in Cumbria
Category:Local museums in Cumbria
Category:Museums established in 1909
Category:Charities based in England