Big News! Big Change! Tullie is temporarily closed for redevelopment work, reopening Summer 2024. Find out more.
A home for the eternally curious…
Tullie is a museum, art gallery, community hub and generally cool place to be (even if we do say so ourselves).
We’ve been part of Carlisle life since 1893. We’ve even been referred to as “Carlisle’s first learning centre”. Before the city had a university, Tullie gave Carlisle a museum, library, art school and technical school.
This heritage is something we’re incredibly proud of and shapes who we are today. Inspiring lifelong learning is at the very heart of what we do.
We do this in many ways, including sharing the stories of the objects in the collection, our work with schools, introducing children to the museum through crafts and play, changing exhibitions and regular workshops and events.
Despite being far away from the UK’s big cultural centres, the collections we care for are truly world class. We care for an impressive set of Pre-Raphaelite artworks, an Arts Council England Designated natural science collection, and a vast human history collection covering over 10,000 years. The total number of items we look after now totals over one million!
Our exhibition gallery has hosted some incredible, world-renowned shows. We’ve had Turner, Rembrandt, the Crosby Garrett Helmet and even Paddington Bear. Not bad for a city of fewer than 100,000, eh?