Dimbola Lodge Houses

Julia Margaret Cameron bought two adjacent cottages from a local fisherman called Jacob Long in 1860. In order to make the house look more beautiful to her friends returning from the beach, they were linked by a central tower in the Gothic style current at the time. The structure dominates the skyline from Freshwater Bay and gives a focus to the surrounding area.

Many years after the Camerons' returned to Ceylon the property was again divided into two parts. These were later renamed Dimbola, which became a private residence and holiday flats, and Cameron House which eventually became unoccupied and under the threat of demolition by developers. The Julia Margaret Cameron Trust obtained a grant from the Foundation of Sport and the Arts to Purchase Cameron House in October 1993. Shortly afterwards, the owner of Dimbola offered it to the Trust, and with major support from Olympus Cameras, the future of the house where Julia Margaret Cameron took up photography and produced the majority of her masterpieces is now secure - a tribute to the persistence of a group of dedicated volunteers and its council of management.

The museum that lies within Dimbola holds the largest permanent exhibition of Julia Margaret Cameron's work available in the United Kingdom. As well as holding many of her photographs it contains a display of historic cameras from through the ages.

An audio visual display tells the story of Julia, her photographic processes the history of photography, and the restoration of Dimbola Lodge Museum . .