see also: Art Galleries in Cornwall
Cornwall's climate and its scenery, not least its spectacular coastal scenery, and historic towns and villages attract a large number of visitors to the county. Many of the towns have their own museums an some places such as Looe have two. Not only are these of great interest locally, to resident or visitor alike, but collectively they hold a great repository of of Cornish artifacts and Cornish history.
The initial aim of this page is to allow the student or browser of Cornish history a ready means of locating individual museums. We hope, as time and other resources allow, to complete the gazeteer to include all the museums in the county (in similar fashion to our "Mills of Dorset" page). Later we hope, with the co-operation of the museums involved, to create a "virtual" "Museum of Cornwall". Whatever your interest, your comments would be very much appreciated.
THIS PAGE IS SHORTLY TO BE REPLACED BY A DYNAMIC PAGE BASED ON A DATABASE WHICH WILL MAKE IT MUCH EASIER TO USE AND LINK TO MUSEUMS THROUGHOUT THE WEST COUNTRY.
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We will consider this page to be somewhere about where we envisage when it works along similar lines to the Devons' Museums site;-
CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT
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BLUE HILLS CORNISH TIN EXPERIENCE St Agnes
 Handle the heavy tin stones. Watch them being crushed under Cornish tin stamps and processed to a rich black tin concentrate. See the brilliant white metal we have smelted in our furnace. Tin giftware and jewellery for sale, cast here from beautiful refined Blue Hills Tin.
BRITISH CYCLING MUSEUM Camelford
 
Our Museum, the nation's foremost museum of cycling history, is housed in an old Victorian Railway Station. It opened for the first time to the public on the April 17th, 1992 following years of amassing cycling memorabilia as a hobby; over 400 examples of cycles; old cycle repair workshop; over 1000 cycling medals, fobs and badges from 1881; extensive library of books; the first cycle oil lamp and window displays of gas, candle, battery and oil lighting; gallery of framed cycling pictures; displays of ceramic cycling items and models of cycling; a history of cycling from 1818.
BUDE STRATTON MUSEUM Bude
 Canal related displays in the museum show the planning, building and working era of the Bude Canal, and include a working model of an incline plane. Photographs and text also show the decline of the canal and the present-day state of much of its course, the first two miles of which are in usable order.
CAMBOURNE SCHOOL OF MINES GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM & GALLERY Camborne
 Displays of rocks and minerals from all over the world - colourful and interesting as well as educational. Added to this a backdrop of pictures (changed every month) by artists living or working in Cornwall, a coffee corner and a shop, making a worthwhile visit for all the family.
CORNISH MINES & ENGINES (POOL) Pool
Discover the secrets of the dramatic Cornish landscape, at Pool, just off the A30. With the expert guidance of local people, see how these engine houses functioned, for pumping the mines dry or for winding men and materials out of the depths. Richard Trevithick, the famous Cornish engineer applied high pressure steam to engines, allowing mining to take place at even greater depths, technology which was then exported all over the world. At Pool you can see Michell's 1887 winder, which now operates under electrical power, but originally raised ore and miners from 1600ft below surface. Across the main road at Taylor's Shaft, its chimney with E P A L written down the side is the massive pumping engine with a 90 inch single cylinder and 52 ton beam. This is now the site of the Cornwall Industrial Discovery Centre. There are displays, and a specialist shop run by friendly staff.
CORNWALL GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM Penzance
 Entirely devoted to the Earth Sciences with stunning mineral and intriguing fossil displays. Witness the violent geological processes that have shaped our planet's surface over the last four billion years. Plus unique gifts, educational material & books in our shop.
CORNWALL MARITIME MUSEUM Falmouth
 Displays about Cornwall and the sea; the Falmouth Packet Service; Ship models; Artefacts; Paintings; Shipbuilding; Navigation; Wrecks; Lifesaving and a database of Cornish-built vessels from 1786 to 1914.
COTEHELE QUAY MUSEUM Cotehele Quay
 The Shamrock: Tamar river sailing barge, built 1899, restored in 1970s. Ketch rig, 37 tonnes, 57 ft length. Small quayside museum tells story of Shamrock, & trade on West Country rivers & coast. (Branch of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, & National Trust)
DUKE OF CORNWALL'S LIGHT INFANTRY MILITARY MUSEUM Bodmin
 Displays cover history of the Regiment (32 & 46 Foot) from 1702 until 1959. An important collection of military small arms since mid-18C, uniforms, pictures and artefacts. Library and Archives.
GEEVOR TIN MINE Pendeen
Geevor Tin Mine, the last working mine in West Penwith and now a mining museum, provides you with a unique opportunity to experience the history of this traditional Cornish industry. Geevor Tin Mine sits on the breath-taking West Penwith coast in an area rich with natural beauty and historic interest. Expert guides, an under-ground tour, displays of original mining machinery and a fascinating museum bring the past to life. With a well-stocked shop, and restaurant serving home-made Cornish fare, at Geevor you experience more than a mine.
GOONHILLY SATELLITE EARTH STATION Lizard Peninsula
Goonhilly, situated near Helston on the beautiful Lizard Peninsula, is the largest satellite earth station in the world. With the ability to transmit to every corner of the globe via space, and through undersea fibre optic cables, Goonhilly simultaneously handles millions of international phone calls, emails, and television broadcasts.
 
KING EDWARD MINE Troon
 King Edward Mine was built as a training mine for the students at Camborne School of Mines and lies at Troon just South of Camborne. It is a complete miniature mine with an underground training mine, a miniature processing plant, a lecture theatre and the remains of all the other surface buildings of a mine at the turn of the 19th Century. The mine is still used by Camborne School of Mines to train students, but part of the site is no longer required. For many years volunteers have been restoring the Mill, which still contains the last working Californian stamps in Britain, together with working examples of round frames, rag frames and a Cornish buddle.
LAUNCESTON STEAM RAILWAY
 Launceston Steam Railway runs through the beautiful Kensey valley from Launceston to the hamlet of New Mills. The narrow gauge locomotives were built in Victorian times and are among the oldest in regular use. The railway terminus (close to the ancient walled town of Launceston) also provides a buffet, book and gift shop and a transport museum. Trains run at frequent intervals from 11am - 4.30pm. tel: 01566 775665
LEVANT STEAM ENGINE Trewellard
In its tiny engine house perched on the cliff edge, the famous Levant beam engine is steaming again after sixty idle years. The sight, sounds and smells of this 160-year-old engine conjure up the feel of Cornwall�s industrial past. Half a mile along the cliff is Geevor mine (not NT) and a mining museum. A short underground tour takes the visitor from the miners� dry to the main engine shaft via a spiral staircase.
LIZARD LIGHTHOUSE Lizard Peninsula
Mainland Britain's most southerley lighthouse, first built in 1751. An unforettable visit to the engine room and the top of the lighthouse tower.
LIZARD WIRELESS STATION Lizard Peninsula
Built in 1900 by Guglielmo Marconi to operate a ship-to-shore wireless telegraphy business to help fund his experiments in long distance signals. It is the oldest purpose-built radio station in the world and continued as a ship-to-shore station until the First World War when Land's End Radio Station was constructed. Purchased in 1995 by the National Trust in a poor state, the Trust restored it to its original form.
MEVAGISSEY MUSEUM Mevagissey
The collection, housed in a boatbuilder's workshop of 1745, is mainly of local domestic and agricultural items, but includes builders' half-models, an "Armada" chest and other artefacts from the local fishing and maritime community.
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL Falmouth
Housed in an award winning building on the Falmouth harbour-side, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall transports you into the world of small boats and Cornish maritime history. Hands on interactive displays, sailing model boats, full size craft from the national small boat collection and windows looking under the ocean. Whether or not the sea is in your blood you are guaranteed to be entertained, educated and inspired.
PADSTOW MUSEUM Padstow
General collection includes features on the local lifeboat, ship-building, shipwrecks, rescues and a collection of shipwright's tools.
PENDEEN LIGHTHOUSE Pendeen
This lonely lighthouse is set on one of the most dangerous and dramatic stretches of coastline in Britain. In the days of sailing ships and unsophisticated navigational equipment, many vessels foundered on the rocks, but today, thanks to the constant source of light from Pendeen, wrecks are a rarity.
POLDARK MINE Wendron
A genuine Cornish tin mine re-opened as a fascinating family attraction. Take a trip underground (children under four at guide's discretion). There are craft shops and workshops. There is a children's play area, amusements, gold panning, ten-pin bowling and a chance to participate in crafts such as pottery, candle-making and ceramics. Dogs on leads welcome on site, but not down mine.
Site: 
Underground Tour: 
PORTHCURNO TELEGRAPH MUSEUM
Porthcurno was the site of the landfall of the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable in 1970. During World War II, the communications centre here was moved into bomb-proof underground tunnels. The former installation is now the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum with exhibitions on communications from Victorian times to the present day.
SHIPWRECK, RESCUE & HERITAGE CENTRE Charlestown
Located in a historic china clay building, we offer visitors an insight into the history of Charlestown and shipwrecks. We have the largest exhibition of artifacts recovered by divers, on public display in the UK. Walk through underground tunnels where clay trucks were pushed out to the ships in the port.
ST AGNES MUSEUM St Agnes
The collective memory of a community and a delightful introduction to a Cornish parish. From Tin Mining to Turtles, Fishing to Folklore. a visit to this free museum will appeal to all ages. Pick up your free colour guide to the Trevaunance Trail and experience Cornwall's Atlantic coast, at its best.
ST AUSTELL BREWERY VISITOR CENTRE St Austell
Tours of a traditional brewery follow the brewing process from start to finish.
THE ROYAL CORNWALL MUSEUM Truro
The Royal Institution of Cornwall (founded in 1818) moved to the River Street site in 1819. The museum features collections that depict Cornish history from the earliest times, the Rashleigh mineral collection, pottery, including work by Bernard Leach, and natural history exhibits. The art gallery includes paintings by the well-known Cornish artist John Opie. There are also visiting exhibitions throughout the year.
THE ST IVES MUSEUM St Ives
This unique museum contains many varied collections relating to the life and times of the town and county; Art; Blacksmith; Boat Building; Cornish Kitchen; Crysede; Farming; Fire Brigade; Fishing; Flags; Geology; Hain Steamship Company; Lifeboat; Lighthouses; Mining; Models; Photographs; Police; Railway; Rooks of TrelawnePhotographic Exhibition; Shipwrecks; Toys; Victorian Clothes; Wartime Memorabilia and much more.
TOLGUS TIN Portreath
On the B3300, Redruth to Portreath road at the Cornish Goldcentre. A unique and important part of Cornwall's history, the only remaining tin streaming mill in the Duchy of Cornwall, now rescued by the Trevithick Trust in partnership with Cornish Goldsmiths. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that this site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Open every day excepting Christmas Day.
TREVITHICK COTTAGE Penponds
Tucked away in the village of Penponds near Camborne was the childhood home Richard Trevithick (1771-1833),one of the most briliant engineers of his time, described as "mercurial, erratic and inspired".
TRINITY HOUSE NATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE CENTRE Penzance
The job of the lighthouse keeper has gone, replaced by automation, but stories of the life are told through the items previously found in daily use, evident throughout the museum. The collection includes lamps, clocks, furniture, uniforms, fog-horns, engines and some major optics removed from lighthouses. Situated in the former buoy store, 300 metres from the harbour car park.
WAYSIDE FOLK MUSEUM Zennor
A unique private museum opened in 1935, covering all aspects of life in Zennor and the surrounding area from 3,000 BC to the 1930s. Exhibits include Waterwheels, Millhouse, Wheelwright's, Blacksmith's, a Miller's cottage with kitchen and parlour, tin mining, fishing, domestic life and archaeology and a Children's Museum Quiz Trail.
WESLEY COTTAGE Trewint
John Welsey, founder of the Methodist movement, stayed at the cottage of stonemason Digory Isbell who,
reading about the Shunamite woman who built a Prophet's Chamber for a man of God in his Bible, took the passage to contain a divine command and started building a two storey extension at the back of the house for the use of Wesley and his preachers when they were in the area.
Restored in 1950, the cottage is open to the public as a Methodist museum and place of Pilgrimage.
WHEAL MARTYN Carthew
The story of China clay is fascinating. In the 18th century prestigious porcelain companies competed to produce the finest china. Companies like Wedgewood have been buying China clay from Cornwall since the 18th century making tableware fit for royalty. Today the processing of China clay is Cornwall's largest industry. Set within the 26 acre site of two former 19th century china clay works, Wheal Martyn takes you through the story of China clay production from 1800 to the present day. There's plenty of variety for all the family, in the form of three trails.
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