Keep Out - Private

Many of you will, at some stage of your life, owned and used a Cumberland pencil, they were usually a green covering with a white end cap, and chances are they were made here. Some years ago, the Cumberland Pencil factory in Keswick applied to reduce the size of the factory and sell off the unused part. The authorities refused, saying that the building was of significant historic importance.

Cumberland Pencils moved to a new facility in Workington a couple of years ago, the site of the old factory is now surrounded by razor wire and the building is slowly being vandalised and decaying. The pencil museum remains adjacent to this site.

Pity.