Want to hit up a few museums in Cornwall but don’t know where to start? Well, a good idea is to begin at Helston’s Museum of Cornish Life. Here’s a place that gives you a potted history of the county in easily accessible yet finely detailed form.
Housed in the town’s historic Market Buildings, the museum sprawls out across three floors and stocks literally thousands of exhibits and historical objects. The collection has been called ‘one of the largest social history collections in the South West’ and it includes axe-heads used by Cornwall’s early settlers, local fishing baskets from days gone by and rare dolls in the museum’s toy shop. It’s an eclectic mix of objects that collectively tell the story of Cornwall and its people over hundreds of years.
Big plus point here: a visit to the museum is free. But you do need to book a time slot in advance and you can do that on its website. You need a few hours to get around the venue as it’s jam-packed with fascinating exhibits. Plus, there’s a rolling programme of themed exhibitions here, including ones on archeology, and there are also regular workshops on offer, particularly for the kids or the whole family.
The museum’s collection was started in 1937 as part of the Old Cornwall Society, with regular exhibitions in Helston’s Guildhall. But its collection swelled and in 1949 it opened at the Market Buildings and it’s been here ever since, bringing the county’s rich social history to locals and visitors alike. Learn about Cornish life before you head out around Helston to taste the modern Cornish life for yourself.