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What Are Derwent Pencils?

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Derwent pencils were first created by the Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company (as they were previously known) in 1832. Their story begins in the heart of the Lake District when graphite was discovered in the Borrowdale Valley. This resulted in the creation of the pencil making industry in Keswick.

By the 1800s pencil making in Keswick had become a thriving cottage industry. The Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company was created in 1916 to make pencils on an industrial scale, and the first Derwent colour pencil was introduced in 1938. The Derwent company’s Pencil Museum still stands on the site of the original factory where they made their first pencils in Keswick. Derwent has continued its Cumbrian roots with the 2008 opening of a purpose-built factory in Lillyhall.

Derwent, continue to evolve and improve their traditional pencils but also continue to introduce innovative new products to serve the future generations of artists and hobbyists around the world.