Timeline

The Cumberland Pencil Co is known and respected worldwide for its innovation & quality. Although only renamed the Cumberland Pencil Co in 1916 there has been pencil manufacturing in Keswick since the days of the Tudors and we have been producing pencils on this site for the last 175 years. The current factory was begun in the 1920's and was finally completed after WWII.

Looking forward we see a bright future ahead with a move to a purpose built pencil factory, just outside Workington in West Cumbria, in January 2008. The museum will remain on the present site as a continuous reminder of the important role pencil making has had in the development of Keswick and the surrounding area over the last 500 years.

This timeline highlights some of the key milestones in the history of pencil making and the Cumberland Pencil Co over the last 500 years.