Our Mission

The Paper Foundation was created to celebrate the remarkable material of paper and to support a community of artists and makers.

We operate a handmade paper mill and are opening the first centre for paper arts in a nearby historic house. We are based in Burneside in the English Lake District, a mill village since the middle-ages and papermaking community since 1746. The organisation was formed by Mark Cropper, sixth-generation papermaker and chair of the renowned James Cropper mill.

We are a charitable organisation committed to advancing education, arts and heritage, for the benefit of Burneside and beyond.

The Ellergreen Project

Ellergreen is a historic country house that overlooks the village of Burneside.

We are now raising funds to convert the ground floor into a new centre for artists and makers: offering residential accommodation, print studios and multi-purpose art studios for bookbinding, woodcut printing and decorative papers.

Ellergreen will also host an exhibition space and our library and archive.

With a view to launch in 2023, we will be offering courses in papermaking, printmaking, drawing and more, alongside an exhibitions and events programme.

If you are interested in finding out more or want to get involved, please email info@paper.foundation.