STAFF at a Lakes visitor attraction are proud to announce they have secured the British ‘Gold’ Standard for Museums.

The Ruskin Museum in Coniston has been the subject of an Arts Council England Accreditation Review.

By securing this accolade, the venue passed a professional peer assessment of the museum’s purpose, vision, collections care and management, environmental monitoring, visitor experience and satisfaction levels, interpretation and learning, and financial sustainability.

Mary Ann Lancaster, museum curator said "We have a wonderful team at the Ruskin Museum.

"Full accreditation and this award is never down to just one or two people but to months and years of continued hard work by the whole team, working together, working in partnership, giving of their best and always aiming high.

"We have now joined an illustrious group alongside, locally, Tullie House Museum & Arts Trust, Lakeland Arts Trust, and Wordsworth Trust, Dove Cottage & Museum, and nationally the British Museum and the V & A.”

Mary Ann joined the team in October 2018 as joint curator with Vicky Slowe, museum director, and has been largely responsible for submitting the ‘comprehensive documentation’ required.

Vicky said‘the Ruskin Museum’s redevelopment scheme in the late 1990s aimed to meet the best standards of collections care, and we were delighted to be awarded full registration in 1999. That status has been reviewed regularly since and we are now very pleased that through our ongoing endeavour the latest review has resulted in Full Accreditation.

The Arts Council England Accreditation panel said: “Full Accreditation is very well deserved."

Cllr Anne Hall, chairman of the Coniston Institute and Ruskin Museum Trust, said: “We are so very proud this work has been recognised by Arts Council England."

The museum is full of fascinating displays telling the many stories of Coniston.

It is open every day until November from 10am until 4.30pm.