Blackwell Arts and Crafts House

About the museum

Blackwell was designed by the architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott as a holiday home for Sir Edward Holt, a Manchester brewery owner, and his family. It was commissioned in 1890 and completed in 1901, and it gave the architect a chance to try his ideas about space, light and texture on a large scale. The gardens were laid out in terraces by Thomas Mawson, with views over Windermere to the Coniston Fells.

During the Second World War the house was used by Huyton College, whose junior girls were evacuated there in 1941, and the college used it as a preparatory school until 1962. A school called Blackwell School then ran there until 1976. The house was sold in 1978 and leased as offices until the last tenant left in 1997, and its future became uncertain.

The Lakeland Arts Trust, now Lakeland Arts, bought and restored the house in 1999 with help from donors and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and it opened to the public in July 2001. The period rooms are furnished with Arts and Crafts pieces from the Lakeland Arts collection and loans, by designers such as Baillie Scott, Archibald Knox, William De Morgan and the local makers Annie Garnett and Arthur Simpson of Kendal. A permanent display tells the story of the house as a school, drawn from former pupils' memories and photographs.

Highlights

• Great Hall and White Drawing Room by M. H. Baillie Scott
• Furniture, ceramics and metalwork by Arts and Crafts makers
• Terraced gardens by Thomas Mawson with views of Windermere
• Display on the house as a school
• Tea room with a terrace and a craft shop

Permanent exhibitions

• Arts and Crafts period rooms – Rooms furnished with Arts and Crafts furniture, ceramics and metalwork from the Lakeland Arts collection, including works by Baillie Scott, Archibald Knox and William De Morgan.
• Blackwell as a school – A permanent display on the house's time as a school, built from former pupils' stories and photographs.

Founded

2001

Operated by

Lakeland Arts

Admission & discounts

Lakeland Arts members and Art Fund National Art Pass holders enter free. An introduction to the house is included in admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The entrance and ground floor are step-free. A lift gives access to the first floor, but some rooms have steps and several short flights of stairs on that floor cannot be used by wheelchair users. Accessible toilets are in the toilet block near the tea room, and a unisex toilet inside the house has level access. Wheelchairs and portable stools can be borrowed, and Blue Badge parking is provided. Large-print menus are available in the tea room. Dogs are not allowed in the house except assistance dogs.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Activities, including trails and colouring, run in term time and school holidays. There is pushchair access throughout the house and tea room, a buggy park on the lower ground floor and baby changing. Children aged 4 and under enter free.

Getting there & parking

Signposted from the M6 (junction 36 from the south, junction 40 from the north) and just off the A5074 Lyth Valley Road.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Tea room in the former kitchen and scullery with a terrace, and a craft shop. Entry to both is free. A dog water station is provided.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit