Author: St Agnes Museum

The Museum has recently been given several interesting artefacts including three evocative Parish magazines from the 1960s. The number of regular weekday services was an eye-opener and the adverts for long-gone shops and services very nostalgic.

This was followed by a  beautiful pot made by Miss Helen Bulkley who moved to Cornwall with her sister Annette in c1922 and founded the Wayside Pottery in St Agnes. She liked to climb down the cliffs to obtain minerals to colour her pottery, which is characteristically turquoise, as shown.

Finally we were delighted to be sent a copy of Theodora Salusbury, Stained Glass Artist 1875-1956 by its authors Georgina Maltby and Andrew Loutit. Miss Salusbury worked from Wheal Roger Studio, St Agnes and created, among many other windows, one of “St Agnes of Rome” for the Parish Church installed in the Church in 1936.

The Museum had an exceptionally lively week beginning on Monday 11 June with six group visits from St Austell Old Cornwall Society (29 visitors), St Ives Old Cornwall Society (20), Truro College (14), Truro Prep School (50), the Town & Country Club (27) and Looe U3A (10). Our Chairman, Roger Radcliffe, welcomed each group, who were very appreciative of all the Museum could offer.

St Ives OCS group, shown here being welcomed by Roger, wrote: We were in awe of the beautifully displayed items you have collected and at the clarity of the signage. You obviously have a good organisation who is offering a great service to the community as a whole.

On 15 June, when we welcomed three groups, our visitor numbers topped 100, which is exceptional for so early in the season. Group visits are always welcome!

The contractor finished early and the newly resurfaced Museum drive was reopened to visitors and volunteers alike on 24 April. The asphalt surfaced drive will give easy access to visitors with mobility problems and those pushing buggies. Hopefully the improved drainage on each side will help with run-off during heavy rain. As part of works the contractor repositioned the historic bedstones correctly.

The Museum community is delighted and very grateful to St Agnes Parish Council for undertaking the work.

We have just been given this tiny watercolour of a Cornish harbour,
(we’d love to know where it is!) by Nancy Lanyon Homer of St Agnes’
Wayside Pottery.

Nancy was better known as a potter and we have several
fine examples of her work, but it’s lovely to have a painting too. We
hope to have it on display soon.

The Museum has bought at auction a mining plan of the transverse section
of Polberro Consols Mine and another plan of the Polberro Tin Limited
Mill from the 1930s. Both are welcome additions to our mining collection.