Museum News
In the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century Victorian society was wild for ivory, the natural substance that is the tusk of an elephant. Ivory has been used for centuries in different continents and countries, but in Victorian Britain, demand spiked. Here at the Museum of Cornish Life we have a number of Victorian items that
Museum News
This memory of Flora Day in 1945, which was also VE Day was deposited in the museum by Margaret Powell:
Museum News
Once again Helston will be quiet on Flora Day and all those excited to take part in the Children’s Dance will have to wait one more year. We wanted to create a moment of shared fun and celebration for all those children at St Michaels Cof E Primary School, Nansloe Academy and Parc Eglos School
Museum News
Its early May, and the Museum of Cornish Life is marking Flora Day. On this day, Helston normally comes ablaze with flowers and greenery adorning doorways and roadsides, along with multicoloured bunting hanging in the streets. Men, women and children dress in their finest and there is dancing in public areas. Unfortunately, this year these
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We have been exploring the theme of Disrupted Lives as part of the Museum of Cornish Life’s work with the Imperial War Museums ‘Second World War and Holocaust Partnership Programme’. This project has involved researching archival documents, oral testimonies and collecting local memories to explore how a global event affected everyday life for people living
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In my last blog for the museum, I wrote about the play that museum supporter Patrick Carroll wrote. His play was inspired by the grave of Evaristo Muchovela in Wendron. As I listened to the play and wrote the blog, several questions were circling in my mind. Why did Thomas Johns have a slave when
Museum News
Since I began my role as part of the Imperial War Museum (IWM)-backed Second World War partnership programme at the Museum of Cornish Life almost three months ago, I have enjoyed the unique privilege of receiving many family stories which have been generously shared by friends of the museum and members of the public. As
Museum News
This ‘under the eaves’ feature follows a different route to a curious story about a master, Thomas Johns and his former slave, a black man, Evaristo Muchovela, who came to live in Cornwall in the 1860s. He died in 1868 and his grave is in Wendron churchyard. One of the objects in the museum is
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What was everyday life like in Cornwall during the Second World War? What kind of sights, sounds and smells would have greeted the many visitors and newcomers who found themselves in the county as a consequence of this momentous conflict? At the Museum of Cornish Life, in collaboration with Bodmin Keep, we have recently embarked
Museum News
“Can you spot me?”, isn’t that just what we say when we look at old school photos? So many visitors at the Museum do this when they reach the school photos in the link corridor between the Meat Market and Drill Hall. We look for ourselves or a relative, peering at the tiny faces all