CUMBERLAND Pencil Company has launched a special collection to mark the discovery of Cumberland graphite 500 years ago.

The Cumberland Collection, which is a tribute to the pencil-making skills of the Keswick company, comes in a natural oak wooden box and is a limited edition of 500. Each set costs around £399.

The discovery of graphite in the early 1500s spawned a cottage industry of pencil-making in Keswick, culminating in the formation of the Cumberland Pencil Company in 1832.