Museum news

Liz Thompson and Carol Morgan recently spent an enjoyable morning with Year 4 of St Agnes School, taking them on a virtual tour of St Agnes with the help of old postcards.

The tour began at St Agnes Station and ended at Goonbell Halt, taking in the village centre, Peterville, Quay, Goonown, Goonbell and Chapel Porth.

We have bought at auction a set of six Indentures on vellum from the Manor of Tywarnhayle.  Dating from 1825-1875, three relate to a house known as “Tinten” at the foot of Rosemundy Hill, while the others relate to a set of tin stamps in Trevellas Combe.  They are an interesting addition to our collection.

St Agnes Church Hall was a hive of activity on Saturday 3 November for St Agnes Museum’s Winter Coffee Morning. Liz Thompson, reports that the Committee was delighted with the generous support it received, with donations of tempting cakes, wonderful raffle prizes and gifts of all sorts, from snowmen to succulents.

“We were very busy serving coffee all morning, and a real bonus was that we could bring a beautiful watercolour of a cottage in Goonvrea by the late St Agnes artist, Tony Giles, for his widow, Hilary, to see. We had only bought it at auction on the Thursday, so it was a real surprise.”, said Liz.

We raised an amazing £479, while Membership Secretary, Beryl Thomas, took £335 in subscriptions. It was a wonderful effort.

St Agnes Museum welcomed Year 5 from St Agnes Primary School to the Museum as part of their studies into local mining and mass migration overseas. The students were deciding whether they would have emigrated from St Agnes when the tin price collapsed. Liz Thompson talked to them about some of her ancestors who had migrated with very different outcomes.

The following week Liz Thompson and Carol Morgan visited Year 5 at school to tell the story, written by Carol, of Eliza Cowling, Bal Maiden, and her first days at work. The children were very enthusiastic and had many questions to ask. They were a pleasure to be with.

Three jigsaw puzzles have been donated by a lady in Wales. They are handmade bespoke puzzles produced by Ashley and Kathleen Rowe in the 1940s in Mount Hawke where they ran the Original Jig-saw Puzzle Club which, according to the label, was established in 1908. These particular puzzles were made for a couple who used to choose a picture, send it to the Rowes and await the return of their puzzle in a cloth bag with no image to work from. They took the puzzles on long cruise holidays to while away the hours.

One of the jigsaws so far completed shows a lively scene of dancers doing the Jitterbug.