Cumbria Uni English

28/08/2026

📅 123 years ago, in August of 1903, The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin" was published by Frederick Warne & Co. The first print run was of 10,000 copies!

🍃 In the summer of 1901, Beatrix sketched background scenery including St. Herbert's Island (Owl Island) from Derwent Bay on the Lingholm estate.

🐿 In December 1902, Beatrix purchased two red squirrels to use as models, but they fought and she had to get rid of the most savage, and handsome, one. The other had half of one ear missing.

[Image Description: A copy of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin sits in a picturesque field, with hills behind, and a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.]

28/08/2026

We are offering 10 paid traineeships across different departments from 2025-29! If you are a young person, student, or recent graduate (18+) looking to enter into the arts, culture, or creative sector, this is for you! 🙌

It is a fantastic opportunity to raise aspirations, skills and knowledge, as well as providing genuine input into governance and decision-making processes at Tullie.

Application Deadline: 4 September 2026, at 5:00PM! ⏰

Find out more here: https://tullie.org.uk/get-involved/jobs/tullie-traineeships/

27/08/2026

The Beatrix Potter Society was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dolly Parton.

Known and loved throughout the world for her music, warmth and generosity of spirit, Dolly also leaves an extraordinary legacy through her Imagination Library. Since founding the programme in 1995, she has helped place millions of books into the hands of children, nurturing a love of reading from their earliest years.

In the United Kingdom, the first book every child receives when joining Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. We are immensely proud that Beatrix’s little book has played a part in Dolly’s beautiful mission, welcoming children into a lifetime of reading and imagination.

Through the Imagination Library, she planted the seeds of curiosity, imagination and a lifelong love of reading in countless young lives around the world. We are grateful for Dolly’s generosity and for her unwavering belief that every child should experience the joy and possibility found within a book.

We send our heartfelt condolences to Dolly’s family, friends and all those who loved her.

📷 Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

27/08/2026

A turbulent friendship: When Martineau met Brontë...

Harriet Martineau of Ambleside was a renowned writer, abolitionist and social theorist who counted some of the most famous people in the land as friends and admirers. She lived at The Knoll near The Armitt, plugged into the literary and social affairs of the age.

Painfully shy Charlotte Brontë of Haworth was still better known as Currer Bell, author of the sensational, runaway success Jane Eyre. When they met, it was a meeting of startling minds. Find out how their remarkable friendship began, flourished - and ended.

This talk gives a rare insight into one of the more fascinating, albeit complex, literary friendships of the mid 1800s.

Details:
-2 PM.
-26th September.
- £10.00 Tickets per person.

26/08/2026

26/08/2026

CALL FOR PAPERS! 📝

We're inviting proposals for papers on The Brontës and the Supernatural for a one day, in-person symposium in Haworth. 👻

This symposium seeks to broaden the parameters of Gothic scholarship on the Brontës by exploring the diverse supernatural traditions, beliefs and cultural narratives that informed the family’s imaginative and everyday worlds. We welcome new and original symposium paper proposals from academics, postgraduates and enthusiasts on topics that have perhaps received less attention.

Proposals (of no more than 300 words) for 20-minute papers should be submitted to [email protected] with the subject 'Symposium' by 31 December 2026.

26/08/2026

25/08/2026

We are hosting another next month, with Annemarie Bilclough from the V&A giving a glimpse inside the V&A's Beatrix Potter collections.

The V&A holds thousands of artworks, photographs, manuscripts and books by, or relating to, Beatrix Potter, making it the world’s largest Potter archive. Using highlights from several important gifts, this talk will describe the people behind them and show how the V&A’s collection gives insight into unusual aspects of Potter’s life story.

This is an online talk and details will be provided upon the purchase of a ticket.

- 2 PM
- 25th September
- £5.00 tickets per person.

See our website https://www.armitt.com/event-directory/ to book an online ticket.