A Lake District museum has been awarded £238,098 for improvements and upgrades to its building and facilities.
The Armitt Library and Museum in Ambleside has been given the cash by the Museum Estate and Development Fund and is one of 17 venues across the North West to share in £16.9m in improving access to arts and culture administered and delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Armitt will use the funding to undertake essential work to upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
It has a collection of over 70,000 Lake District objects and artefacts, including Beatrix Potter’s fungi watercolours, paintings by the avant-garde artist Kurt Schwitters, material related to the educational pioneer Charlotte Mason, and archaeology from the Ambleside Roman Fort.
Faye Morrissey, manager & curator of The Armitt, said: “This funding will make a huge difference to The Armitt.
“Not only will it help improve and manage the care of objects in our custodianship, but it will allow us to develop stronger relationships with other national organisations and lenders for future exhibitions.
“In addition, the new system will be constructed with sustainability and environmental considerations at its heart, building upon our other carbon footprint work, helping to futureproof the organisation into the years ahead.”
In total, 130 organisations across the country are receiving a share of funding, marking the first projects receiving cash from the Government’s Arts Everywhere Fund.
