Hawkshead Grammar School Museum

11/06/2026

This weekend Cartmel racecourse will be hosting the Lake District Book Festival, a celebration of literature here in the Lake District. 📚

As part of the festival, on Friday there will be an unveiling of a plaque to William Taylor, a former student at Hawkshead Grammar School who went on to become headmaster during Wordsworth’s time. Taylor had a profound impact on Wordsworth, encouraging his love of poetry from an early age.

Sadly William Taylor died from illness aged just 32, and is buried at Cartmel Priory. His name remains etched into a desk here at the school.

05/06/2026

We are delighted to share that we have recently been awarded a grant from the Idlewild Trust to carry out conservation work on our original portrait of Edwin Sandys.

The portrait of Hawkshead Grammar School’s founder dates from 1571 and is currently in a poor condition, but thanks to the Idlewild Trust and your generous donations, we will now be able to preserve this beautiful painting for many years to come! 🖼️

04/06/2026

Look out for our event, Hidden Histories: Lives between the pages, in the Heritage Open Day directory! 📚

Heritage Open Days 2026: 11-20 September

02/06/2026

Happy 🎉

We want to say a big thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who work hard to conserve and catalogue our library collection. 📚

Want to get involved? Email [email protected] for more information on our volunteer opportunities!

29/05/2026

We’re pleased to announce our next Talk at the School, exploring the fascinating story of Coniston Coppermines with local Mark Hatton.

Learn about the discovery of copper at Coniston, and the lives of the men, women and children who worked in the mines over the centuries.

Tickets also include a chance to visit our current exhibition and historic library. Light refreshments will be provided.

29th June 🗓️

7:30pm ⏰

Tickets available now 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-talk-at-the-school-coniston-coppermines-tickets-1988235211038?aff=oddtdtcreator

26/05/2026

📣 Updated opening hours! We are open every day during the school holidays 11-4.

Pop in and explore the history of the school or simply take a break from the hot weather! ☀️

18/05/2026

Happy International Museum Day! 🎉

What better way to celebrate than by visiting your local museum, gallery or heritage site? Small independent museums need your support now more than ever to help preserve historic collections and buildings for future generations!

Can’t make it to a museum in person? You can find hundreds of museums including Hawkshead Grammar School on the Bloomberg Connects App! Simply download and enjoy learning all about the history of the school with a cup of tea in hand. ☕️

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

📣 We are looking for volunteers!

Do you have an interest in libraries and historic books? Or perhaps you attended our talk from Caroline Bendix last week and left feeling inspired?

We need help to catalogue our library collection and are looking for patient, detail orientated people to join our team. We are especially looking for people with availability on a Friday morning.

If you think this could be you, please get in touch at [email protected].

06/05/2026

The library at Hawkshead Grammar School was founded in 1669 and has around 1800 books, the oldest of which dates back to 1495.📚

We’re now cataloging the collection in detail for the very first time, and uncovering some fascinating stories of former students in the process! 🎓

Stay tuned to hear about all the discoveries that we make…