Announcing a Formalized Partnership between CMI and the Armitt Museum & Gallery

Intro

We are glad to announce a formalized MOU with the Armitt Museum & Gallery to continue preserving and expanding access to the Charlotte Mason Archives!

The Charlotte Mason Institute holds in deep regard the Armitt's faithful stewardship of these irreplaceable primary sources. The Charlotte Mason Archives and the PNEU Collections preserved by the Armitt represent the living documentary heritage of a transformative educational movement — letters, manuscripts, administrative records, and ephemera that illuminate Charlotte Mason's thought and the extraordinary reach of the work she inspired. The Armitt's care and curation of these materials over many years is an act of cultural and scholarly preservation for which the Charlotte Mason Institute is profoundly grateful.

This MOU is entered into in a spirit of genuine partnership, shared custodianship of a common heritage, and mutual commitment to the flourishing of Charlotte Mason scholarship worldwide. Both parties recognise that access to primary archival materials is foundational to serious scholarship, and that widening such access — responsibly, collegially, and with respect for The Armitt's curatorial expertise — serves the broader educational community.

Summer Research

With Professor of Practice and Visiting Research Fellow appointments by the University of Cumbria in Ambleside, UK, Kerri Forney and Shannon Whiteside spent the month of August digging in the Charlotte Mason archives at the Armitt Library and Museum Centre. Their eventual research goal is to identify and analyze the key principles of curriculum design found in Mason’s and her successors' choice of books, exam questions, and progression of content throughout the grades as well as to make these sources more accessible to others. The Alveary is committed to this continual study of Mason principles, practices, and context as well as current research in education to provide parents and schools with everything they need to joyfully and successfully offer children a living, relational education for life! 

The Armitt's wonderful care and curation of the Mason Collection allows for the study of Mason's work and legacy to flourish into the future.  Kerri and Shannon are so grateful for their warm hospitality and for this formalization of an already close working relationship with the Armitt that has been enjoyed for many years.

From the Armitt

The Armitt is delighted to welcome a new MOU with our international partners at The Charlotte Mason Institute, streamlining our mutual goals in the preservation and study of the life and work of Charlotte Mason. The news follows a series of research trips by representatives of the CMI to The Armitt across 2026, in which the Charlotte Mason and PNEU archives were made available for extensive research. With a focus on the intricacies of Mason's principles of education, the most recent visit included a deep dive into our collection of PNEU journals amongst a range of other ephemera.

The Charlotte Mason archive remains some of the most requested material for research, and it is always a pleasure to welcome representatives from the CMI and independent researchers to make the most of our extensive collections here at The Armitt. 

At The Armitt, we continue to welcome collaborative approaches to the study of our collections, and the formulation of the MOU with the CMI helps us to both develop the contemporary significance of this aspect of the museum's collection whilst continuing to promote the study of the Charlotte Mason archive both locally and internationally.