Abbot Hall Art Gallery
Unlike most galleries, Abbot Hall did not start with a collection that needed somewhere to be displayed, but with a building that needed saving. It was the only Grade I listed building in Kendal, other than the Parish Church, and by the 1950s it was almost derelict and threatened with demolition. A group of local people came together to form a charitable trust in order to raise the money to save the building, and a long-term use for it needed to be found. It was decided to turn it into an art gallery.
Abbot Hall was built in 1759 by Colonel George Wilson, the second son of Daniel Wilson of Dallam Tower, a large house and country estate nearby. It was built on the site of the old Abbot’s Hall, which formerly stood roughly where the museum is today.
It is not known who the architect of the new Abbot Hall was, and it was evidently not terribly successful as a home. The newly-married Wilsons moved out and went to York after just a few years, and then it was lived in by a succession of different families over the next century, finally being owned by a local bank at the end of the 19th century.
In 1897 Abbot Hall was acquired by the Kendal Borough Council who wanted to turn its grounds into a public park for the town. The building itself, however, was largely neglected and by the 1950s was almost in a state of collapse. The newly-formed Lake District Art Gallery Trust (now the Lakeland Arts Trust) raised the money for its renovation, and in 1962 it opened as an Art Gallery.
VISITORS INFORMATION:
2010 Opening Times
Monday - Saturday (closed Sundays)
6 January - 18 December 2010
10.30am - 5.00pm (Closing 4.00pm November - March)
Admission
Adults £5.75, Gift Aid It for £6.35
Young people up to the age of 18 and full-time students up to the age of 25 FREE
'Friends, Patrons and Benefactors’ FREE
Gift Aid
If you are a UK tax payer willing to ‘Gift Aid’ your admission with a 10% voluntary donation, then this will allow us to claim an additional 28p on every pound you pay.
The money we raise from Gift Aid makes a valuable difference to the upkeep and exhibition programme at Abbot Hall.
Weekly Gallery Talks
Tuesdays at 2.00pm, FREE with admission
Join a member of the Trust’s Curatorial or Educational Team for an informal walking tour of the current temporary exhibition.
Group Visits
There is a special reduced rate for pre-booked groups of 10 or more
Parking
There is a pay and display car park located between the gallery and the Museum of Lakeland Life. Disabled parking bays are free.
Access
All levels are accessible for wheelchair users and service dogs.
Families
We have baby changing facilities and baby straps are available as we are unable to accommodate pushchairs. Trails and activity sheets available all year round introducing families and children to the collection.
Photography
Due to restrictions of copyright placed on pictures on loan, no photography of any kind is allowed inside.
Picnics
Picnic benches, swings and slides are in the adjacent park.
How to get here
10 minute drive from J36 of the M6, follow signs to south Kendal and then for Abbot Hall. Nearest main-line train station: Oxenholme, the Lake District.
GPS Location - N54°19.38 , W2°44.72
Abbot Hall Art Gallery
Kendal
Cumbria
LA9 5AL