Ian Hislop brought his razor-sharp satirical world view to Whitehaven’s Beacon Museum yesterday.

The Have I Got News for You presenter and Private Eye editor was due to talk about a new exhibition, The Golden Age of Satire, which is currently running at the museum.

It features scathing political cartoons from the Georgian period, which mock politicians and Royal Family and made the idea of lampooning authority popular.

Mr Hislop was given a tour of The Beacon before he was due to speak yesterday and appeared to be very impressed with what the museum had to offer.

“The museum’s extraordinary. The location and the way they have woven in local material is incredible. It’s beautifully done.”

He added that he thought the new exhibition would go down “really well” with locals and visitors.

Mr Hislop is doing a live tour of the British Museum exhibition, in which he discusses the legacy of James Gillray and George Cruikshank, who scalded the Georgian establishment with caricatures.

He said: “My favourite piece is the Voluptuary - it’s a very rude picture of a large, fat Tory supporting Prince Regent!”

When quizzed about a possible revival of the popular political satire series Spitting Image which Mr Hislop co-wrote, he replied:

“I have no idea. It was a long time ago. But these drawings really are the Spitting Image of their day so there’s always room for a variant even if it’s not watercolours or puppets, there’ll be some other version of satire.”

He was also asked how future generations may look back on political issues of today, including Brexit.

“With any luck, they’ll have forgotten about it. I think they’ll think it’s quite a bad time for the country but it’s quite a golden age for satire.”

The Beacon Museum’s Director, Elizabeth Kwaznik, said: “This British Museum Spotlight Loan is a collection of illustrations that waymark the origins of modern-day satirical humour. It is supported by the Dorset Foundation, and is our first collaborative project with the world-famous British Museum. The exhibition contains numerous original satirical illustrations from the Georgian period, when Whitehaven itself was considered one of England’s boom towns.

“We could not have timed this collaboration with the British Museum any better, as dissenting voices are currently in overdrive with satirical reflections on Brexit. We at the Beacon Museum want to look at that way of thinking and take it back to where it all began.

“Modern traits of satire are clearly recognisable even in these Georgian illustrations. Looking at our west Cumbrian collection and the Georgian town in which we are located, we have a rich array of contextual information and artefacts to help put a local spin on these national narratives of use and abuse of power.”

The exhibition runs at The Beacon until January 12. It is suitable for all ages, although some mild adult themes will be visible among the collection.

It is accompanied by a range of workshops and events. Visit www.thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk for details or search #GoldenAgeOfSatire on social media.