To celebrate Volunteers’ Week 2025 we are sharing Sue’s story of volunteering at the museum since it was taken over by an independent trust (South Kerrier Heritage Trust) in 2013. Most recently Sue has been instrumental in ensuring our extensive Photographic Collection is meticulously registered and documented, helping the Museum maintain its Accredited status, while also conducting research on the railway’s role in Cornish farming, and women in Cornish farming. Sue is also a volunteer at the Helston Railway which works to preserve and keep active the old railway line that was vital to Helston, the Lizard and South Kerrier.

Volunteering at the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston is never dull! Whether accessioning newly acquired items, checking on current artefacts, helping to set up an exhibition or display, or tidying a specific display everything is interesting and often distracts you from the task in hand.

Curating the museum’s knowledge

Somewhile ago my project was to sort, catalogue and coordinate the ‘green boxes’ held at Reception [the green boxes contain lots of reference material relating to different topics represented by the Museum]. A fascinating insight into local life and how busy this hub that is Helston was in Victorian and Edwardian times. The articles range from Helston Railway to Education, Local Personalities to Shipwrecks and Helston town to Religion. Such very interesting articles are in these boxes and a good place to start any research. It was a very enjoyable six months work and satisfying to see how easy it was to find anything. I almost felt sorry to finish it.

I have had the opportunity to study documents, books, costumes and photographs during my years volunteering here, and I will never cease to be amazed by the depth and breadth of knowledge of all who are involved here.

Photographic detective work

Lately I have been involved in collating photographs. We currently have five shelves full in archive boxes, others which are framed and in need of conservation, and many individual ones in the process of being accessioned and researched and our database updated. Once again the depth of knowledge of volunteers for this task is awesome.

The trouble with photographs is, of course, that you cannot just check numbers and information provided, you find yourself easily distracted as you recognise a location, the event, the era or often a person!

Our first Curator, Mr Dalton from 1949 when the Museum opened kept meticulous records, all handwritten and so interesting to read. He seemed to be heavily involved in town affairs. The last Curator, before the Museum was taken over by the South Kerrier Heritage Trust, Martin Matthews, was an avid collector and definitely the fount of all knowledge. We as a town are very lucky to have inherited the resuts of their interest, knowledge and artefacts.

Overall there is a deep satisfaction of increasing your knowledge and completeing a project. The ‘to do’ list is never ending, but certainly varied, as is the pleasure of being part of a great team, and the assurance that we are preserving the past to provide our social history for the future.

Curating photographs

This selection of photographs was made and described by Sue to share with you. They come from our exceptional Photographic Collection of Cornish Life from the late 19th century to the early 2000s.