The current collection was constituted by the Helston branch of the Old Cornwall Society in the 1930s and included agricultural objects, relics of civic history including the Helston Railway, Cornish trades and occupations, archaeological artefacts, photographs and documents, numismatics, domestic items used for making, preserving, cooking and mending, Victorian textiles and dress, and items relating to Henry Trengrouse and his significant lifesaving inventions.
The idea for a museum to preserve material folk memories, especially of everyday activities that were beginning to fade in local communities followed the ruptures caused by the First World War (1914-18) and the impact of the increasing globalisation of Empire. The museum came to fruition in 1937 when the museum’s objects were systematically catalogued for the first time and the collection and project gained the financial backing of Helston Borough Council which took on its governance.
The development of the collections has not deviated from the initial pledge that the museum should be: “a folk museum and a local museum for the borough and the surrounding district. It exists for the collection of local things, especially ancient agricultural implements and such things as old coins, pictures and photographs of local scenes and events.” (Guide to Helston Borough Museum, c.1949. HESFM.1994.6465).
The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 caused the temporary hiatus of the museum. The collection went into storage and many items were distributed among townsfolk for safekeeping. In 1946 town’s old market buildings became vacant and the collection was transferred to its current venue as a dedicated museum.
Curator by day, publican by night
In 1949, Helston Borough Museum opened in the old Butter and Egg Market building. The first curator, William ‘Bill’ Dalton, also the Landlord of the Beehive pub opposite the museum, continued to collect artefacts, mainly those relating to 19th and early 20th century Cornish social and cultural history. Natural history specimens including taxidermy and minerals, items relating to childhood, domestic technologies such as television, radio and music, and the contents of or inspired by defunct shops, and businesses began entering the collections. The geographic scope focused on Helston, the Lizard and south Kerrier district, however other items from across Cornwall were collected from the museum’s earliest days.
The collection expanded along similar lines throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Acquisitions were normally initiated by a member of the community, Old Cornwall Society, and through Bill Dalton’s network in the town and district. In 1974, following Local Government reorganisation, the collection and museum became the property of Kerrier District Council.
Museum cataloguing as job creation
The collection was re-catalogued, partially illustrated or photographed, marked and documented according to ‘modern’ museum standards between 1977 and 1980 thanks to the Manpower job creation scheme. In 1980 Martin Matthews became the Council’s first paid Museum Officer and de facto curator. The 1980s to 1990s saw considerable redisplays and the expansion of the museum into the former Meat Market immediately adjacent to the Butter Market in 1983 and in 1999 into the Drill Hall, adjacent to the Meat Market. The collection expanded thematically and set-piece displays were built, for example, the Toyshop, the Victorian Classroom, the Serpentine Turner’s workshop, the 1950s corner shop and the Cornish kitchen; the costume collection expanded considerably in this period. The museum was rebranded as Helston Folk Museum in this period.
As part of the expansions, a small object store was established in the museum’s loft to house items not part of long-term displays. The majority of the object collection has always been on display. The major exception is photographs and framed items.
In 2002 Martin Matthews was succeeded by Janet Spargo as curator. The collection continued to expand in the early 2000s. A dedicated educational/handling collection was set up for the first time in the early 2000s and the catalogue began to be transferred to Modes, the museum collections management system.
In 2005 the collections of Camborne Museum, housed in the town’s library, were transferred to Helston. Camborne Museum was also under the auspices of Kerrier District Council and the decision to amalgamate the collections was intended to be temporary while a new home might be found. The collections comprised significant Cornish archaeology, notable ethnographic objects, mining material culture and extensive, unprovenanced mass-produced ceramics.
A museum for all our communities
In 2009 ownership of both collections passed from Kerrier District Council to the unitary authority Cornwall Council. At this point Melody Ryder had become curator. In 2012/13 the museum was threatened with closure as a new governance arrangement was being sought. In August 2013 South Kerrier Heritage Trust (SKHT) was constituted as a registered charity and took over the management of the museum and its collections, on behalf of Cornwall Council, under the curatorship of Katherine Ashton. In 2017, SKHT appointed the museum’s first director, Annette MacTavish.
The Museum rebranded in 2018 as the Museum of Cornish Life to more correctly reflect the breadth of geographies that the collection reflects, and its ambition to be relevant to people outside the immediate district. This was paired with an increased focus and investment in community engagement and cultural collaborations led by the Community Engagement Curator, and a redoubling of the Museum’s commitment to remaining free to access.
Limited and mostly well-provenanced collecting has taken place over the last decade to enable us to focus on expanding documentation, improving cataloguing and activating the collection through temporary exhibitions, loans and digitisation. An Art Fund Headley Fellowship in 2022 enabled the Museum to embark on a dedicated programme of strategic research, supported by the Research Curator.
A home for ancient Cornish life
In 2020 South Kerrier Heritage Trust and the Museum took over responsibility for hosting Cornwall’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. The duchy’s Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) is based at the museum and manages the recording of new finds reported to the scheme. This work has also enabled the museum to expand its remit into exploring Cornish archaeology through the lens of the materials and makers of ancient Cornish life.