The Jerwood Centre

The Jerwood Centre

The Jerwood Centre was completed in 2004 and opened by the Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney on 2 June 2005. It is an excellent example of how public and private funders have come together to support our work.

The Centre is both a striking architectural statement and a secure, long-term home for our great collection. It has outstanding facilities for research and conservation, enabling us to develop further our education, publication and exhibition programmes. Its Reading Room contains a major Romantic library featuring many rare first editions. This was also created in 2004 when we considerably increased our printed book collection, principally through the aquisition of one of the finest collections of Romantic literature ever assembled to still be in private hands.

In 2005, the Jerwood Centre, designed by architects Benson & Forsyth and built under the guidance of Napper Architects Ltd, won a commendation from the Civic Trust for the quality of the architecture. The judges said it was:

'A breathtakingly beautiful building of sheer simplicity with a Scottish flavour in the 'drum and tower' design. Built to house the Trust's collection of fine art, books and manuscripts, the building reflects and mimics the local vernacular, particularly through the inclusion of a slate roof. The floating roof provides clerestory glazing to the reading room and the interior is punctuated with large picture windows ... This is an impressive example of how modern architecture can co-exist with traditional buildings.'

The Jerwood Centre also won awards from RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects), and has won critical acclaim in the media. The Guardian's architectural commentator Jonathan Glancey wrote:

'What a quietly heroic design this is ... A fine and likeable building: intelligent and acceptable to everyone. It shows how a national collection can be located successfully in a village, while demonstrating how local building traditions can be developed imaginatively leading to new building types that work with heritage culture without being subservient to it ... The use of materials here is exemplary; the Jerwood Centre belongs to Grasmere, while bringing something freshly creative to the Lakeland village, just as William Wordsworth did 200 years ago.'

The building was created through the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Northwest Development Agency, the Jerwood Foundation and the European Regional Development Fund. It has been endowed through further donations from public and private sources. If you would like to find out how you can help in our vital work, please click here.

Click here to watch a short film on the Jerwood Centre (opens in a new window).

The Jerwood Centre Reading Room is now open to researchers by prior appointment. Researchers wishing to use original material are requested to provide an outline of their study, provide the names of two referees, and complete an application form confirming agreement to follow the Reading Room rules of behaviour. Enquiries and applications should in the first instance be made to the curator, Jeff Cowton (015394) 35544 or via our contact form.

The costs of staffing the Jerwood Centre for researchers and other users of the building, and of maintaining the sophisticated environmental and security equipment for the benefit of our Collection, are only partially funded. A donation from you will help us to raise the additional funds needed to continue to care for our Collection and provide access to the widest possible audience. By donating to the Collection Fund, you are playing your own role in preserving the Trust as 'a living memorial for the eternal possession of those who love English poetry all over the world.'

The Jerwood Centre will further establish Grasmere as the global centre for Wordsworth studies and for the study of British Romanticism in general.
Seamus Heaney, June 2005

For more information on how you can help, please contact Sally Robinson, Individual Giving Officer, on (015394) 63520 or complete the contact form.