COINE: Cultural Objects in Networked Environments

The Armitt Museum and Library – The UK COINE Demonstration Site

The Armitt Museum and Library has a history going back over a hundred years, being founded by the Armitt sisters, who lived in Ambleside and had connections with many of the leading literary figures of the time (Ruskin, Rawnsley, less directly with Wordsworth, Coleridge et al.). They collected material relating to the literary scene of the day as well as that pertaining to the English Lake District - Ambleside is in the heart of this area, one of the most beautiful and most visited parts of England.

Over time the Armitt added to its original collections, as it still does. Particularly notable are original watercolours by Beatrix Potter and the archive of the Charlotte Mason teacher training college. Part of the English Fell and Rock club’s collection is on permanent loan from Lancaster University. Recently the Armitt has started to develop its collections relating to the work of Kurt Schwitters, the internationally renowned artist who lived and worked in Ambleside for many years.

The Armitt occupies purpose-built accommodation near the centre of Ambleside, easily accessible to all residents and visitors. On the ground floor are the main museum display areas as well as a reception area and small shop. On the upper floor there is the main library collection, a reading room and an office.

Description of the Armitt COINE scenario

Alice has lived in Ambleside for the past five years. Now retired, she bought her traditional Lakeland cottage from an old couple who had lived there for many years. In redecorating she has come across many old features, and she has started to research the history of her cottage and the people who have lived there.

She has discovered some old photographs of the street, which show it over 100 years ago as well as more recent ones dating from the 1950s to the 1990s. She has found the names of former owners from the title deeds and has started to read documents in the Armitt and other local collections, which suggest the occupations of some of these people. One was a prominent local artist. Having joined the oral history group, she has also discovered that some of the recorded memories of older residents have considerable relevance. By accessing genealogical sites she has found the birth and marriage certificates of the local artist and discovered that her parents came to England from Poland after the First World War.

Now she is going to use the COINE system to write and record the story of her cottage. In searching the networked COINE archives she finds that someone in Poland, where another COINE domain is being run, has written the story of the artist’s family. This will be a useful resource for her to link into.

Whilst the above is a scenario , Alice’s cottage could well have been How Head Cottage at the the top of Smithy Brow, Ambleside. How Head used to be owned by the Braithwaite family who were one of the most important Ambleside families in the Seventeenth Century.

How Head and the Braithwaites photo gallery.

Sources to be provided to or by COINE domain

• Modern digital photographs of the interior and exterior of the cottage and its immediate surroundings
• Digitised versions of historical photographs
• Digitised copy of the title deeds, with embedded pointers
• Digitised version of oral history (audio) tape
• Genealogical records plus digitised copies of certificates
• Pointers to web sites which describe traditional Lakeland building techniques
• Bibliography of sources consulted including location
• VR tour of the cottage
• Link into the Polish COINE story