Looking back

With a new project in the works this summer, the Museum of Cornish Life looks back on times gone by for Cornish farmers.

Housing a wide-ranging collection through which we can share in stories of life in Cornwall, Helston’s Museum of Cornish Life can be found in the town’s former market buildings. The collection on display ranges wildly in size, from the smallest item (a dice made from the tooth of a lion) to the largest – the historic building itself!

Led by Annette MacTavish, the museum’s Director, this wonderful museum is always looking for new ways to share what it has to offer, and to make it as welcoming as possible to as many people as possible. When the museum first opened its doors in 1949 the newspaper headline read “Farmers will like it”.

“This summer,” Annette explains, “the museum is embarking on a project led by Dr Tehmina Goskar to better reflect Cornish farming from the 1970s to today. As the project moves forward, we will be carrying out most of the work in public so visitors can speak to us while we document the collection, undertake preventive conservation and think about new interpretation.” This is all being made possible thanks to an award of £78,000 from the Museums Association Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund.

Annette continues: “While the museum displays objects related to working life from farming to fishing to mining, the main focus remains on everyday items. We specialise in the things people owned and loved. As you look around the museum, you will see objects that remind you of things people you know have used in their life. The museum is home to things used and loved, not boxed up and kept for special occasions. It’s why we can see people in the things we share, and why the museum is so special.”

Over the summer, the museum is running free weekly making activities for families on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings to tie in with the summer exhibition Can You See Me, alongside activity trails for all ages. The museum is free to visit and open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

MUSEUM OF CORNISH LIFE

Market Place, Helston TR13 8TH
01326 564027
www.museumofcornishlife.co.uk