The Ruskin Museum is a small local museum in Coniston, Cumbria, northern England. It was established in 1901 by W. G. Collingwood, an artist and antiquarian who had worked as secretary to art critic John Ruskin. The museum is both a memorial to Ruskin and a local museum covering the history and heritage of Coniston Water and the Lake District. The museum is a registered charity in England & Wales, constituted as The Coniston Institute and Ruskin Museum.
Collections & exhibits
Its collections include material on the copper and slate mines of the region, geology, lace making, farming, and writer Arthur Ransome. A larger collection is devoted to the life and work of John Ruskin. A specialist collection covers the achievements of Donald Campbell, who died while attempting a new water speed record on Coniston Water. In December 2006, his daughter Gina Campbell donated the salvaged remains of Bluebird K7 to the Ruskin Museum on behalf of the whole Campbell family. This original recovered material is now the property of the museum, while the restored and replaced parts of the boat remain under the control of The Bluebird Project, who retain ownership of their materials. There is now uncertainty about the future of the boat, partly due to the conflicting desires of both parties: The Bluebird Project wishes to be able to exhibit it on water periodically, as a working racing speedboat, and the museum, in contrast, wishes to keep it as a permanent exhibit. In the grounds of the museum stands 'Riverdale', an extensive collection of over sixty miniature structures including houses, bridges and farm buildings which were hand-made by local builder John Usher. Based on local vernacular architecture, the slate and stone structures were removed from Usher's former home Brow Head after his death, with the largest collection being rehomed at the museum in 1999.
Developments
In the 1980s, the museum was at risk, and a project was launched to secure its long-term future. An £850,000 development scheme was started. The interpretive design for the Ruskin Museum received an Association for Heritage InterpretationInterpret Britain Award in 1999. The restored museum with its new extension re-opened to the public in May 1999 and was officially opened by the then Culture Secretary, the Rt. Honourable Chris Smith on 23 May 2000. In 2017/18, architect Takeshi Hayatsu worked with tutors and students from Central Saint Martins in London and Grizedale Arts to design and install a kiosk adjacent to the museum, with surface copper tiles decorated by local people. The kiosk provides information on the area's copper mining history. The museum grounds also include a community bread oven by Hayatsu and students, a project that was shortlisted for the Architects Journal Small Projects Awards 2018. In 2019, planning permission was granted to implement a new landscaping scheme by Hayatsu for the museum access route.
