Firemen braved a hail of falling slates to drag priceless antiques from a blaze at Brantwood museum in Coniston on April 5, 1989.

And under the headline ‘Priceless antiques saved in Ruskin museum blaze’, it was reported that they had earned praise from museum manager Bruce Hanson for risking their lives to pull out a boat, coach and bathchair which once belonged to writer, philosopher and art critic John Ruskin.

“Slates were smashing down all round them but they kept going back into pull them out,” said Mr Hanson.

He said the coach was designed by Ruskin in 1876. The boat Jumping Jenny was also his design, while the wicker bathchair was one in which the famous man was often photographed.

The fire destroyed one room of a craft gallery, but firemen from Coniston, Ambleside and Broughton managed to stop the blaze spreading to a second craft room and the restaurant which was vital to Brantwood’s tourist trade.

Mr Hanson said guests staying in the main house fortunately woke up and spotted the blaze at 3.30am.

Although the coach house was well alight on its upper floor when Coniston firemen arrived, they controlled the blaze and stopped it spreading to other parts of the museum on the lakeshore.

“They were quite magnificent,” said Mr Hanson.

The fire appeared to have stared in the corner of the craft gallery.

Despite the damage, it would be business as usual at the popular tourist attraction as soon as the electricity supply was re-connected to the restaurant.

In 1992, Lady Lloyd of Kilgerran, widow of the late chair of Coniston's Brantwood Trust, and John Dawson, chair of the Friends of Brantwood, were on hand at Ruskin's former Lake District home to admire the Friends' first purchase.

This was a painting of by W G Collinwood of Wetherlam, which lies on the opposite side of Coniston Water to Brantwood.

It was to go on permanent display at Brantwood.