THE final whistle will blow on Ambleside’s popular Homes of Football museum this year as the exhibition moves to Manchester.

Stuart Clarke has enjoyed 14 years taking 160,000 photographs of Britain’s most popular sport, a selection of which are on display at the museum on Lake Road.

Burnley manager Brian Laws and ex-Carlisle United manager John Ward are two of the names who have visited the gallery, which attracts 60,000 people every year.

In November the exhibits will move to the new National Football Museum at the Urbis building in Manchester, which means more of Mr Clarke’s photographs can go on display.

“I will be sad to leave,” said Mr Clarke.

“If it was going to nothing then I would be incredibly upset because I’ve put a lot of effort in here and we’ve had some great feedback over the years.

“The only bad comments I’ve really had are: ‘Why aren’t there more pictures of my team?’

"We’ve covered just about everybody now and had some wonderful comments from people who’ve visited – not just about the work but about the place as well.

“A lot of people are surprised to see it here and ask: ‘Why is this here?’.

"People might tend to think that they’ll find a climbing museum when they’re around these parts, not a football museum.

“Even non-football fans appreciate the humanity of the pictures and the passion shown in them.”

Mr Clarke has spent his life taking pictures for the gallery, from World and European Cup matches in Japan, Portugal and Germany, to grassroots football in the Lake District.

“We will be very sorry to see it go in November,” said Alex McCoskrie, marketing director at Cumbria Tourism.

It is unclear what will happen to the museum building, which is rented to Mr Clarke by Lakeland Properties.

The firm could not be contacted prior to The Westmorland Gazette going to press.

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