What’s in our collection

St Agnes Museum is full of fascinating artefacts and information about the Parish of St Agnes. There’s lots about our rich mining and maritime history with a detailed model of the former harbour and our fabulous Lady Agnes figurehead.

There are many interesting items in our collection relating to farming, folklore, religion, archaeology, domestic bygones, life in the Victorian era, and much more. Our Museum is a real ‘cabinet of curiosities’!

Open up the doors of our Museum for a summary of all you would like to know about our building and its collection. Did you know that there are 6500 items in our collection, many of which can be viewed on our new computer in the study corner?

Natural History

The Leatherback turtle
The leatherback turtle

Meet our impressive leatherback turtle, a favourite with the children! There’s a colourful display depicting life beneath the sea, an unusual trigger fish – and you can learn about the flora and fauna of the local area.

Minerals

We have many beautiful specimens from St Agnes mines and there are explanations of the geology of the region.

Mining

Postcard of Wheal Friendly Mine by Sammy Solway
Postcard of Wheal Friendly Mine by Sammy Solway

St Agnes was once the busy hub of the tin and copper mining industry, as can be seen by the many old ruined mine buildings that remain. See atmospheric photos and the tools of the mining trade – and there are videos about mining that you can sit and watch.

Maritime History

Our rich Maritime History is illustrated by the intricate model of the harbour which was once at Trevaunance Cove; the impressive Lady Agnes figurehead; the first life saving reel, invented by a local man, and information on the Coastguard and the RNLI.

Opie Collection

Self-portrait by John Opie RA, the "Cornish Wonder", 1761-180
Self-portrait by John Opie RA, the “Cornish Wonder”, 1761-1807

We have two beautiful portraits by John and Edward Opie, plus artefacts relating to their lives in St Agnes, including John Opie’s paintbox.

We were able to purchase the self portrait by John Opie R.A. and a portrait by Edward Opie R.A. of his father with the help of grants from The Art Collections Fund, The V&A Arts Purchase Fund and The Cornwall Heritage Trust as well as local donations.

Family History Library

The Museum holds information on many local families, including a list of the graves in the graveyard outside. Our extensive family history records are available for research in our study corner both as hard copy and on the computer database.

People come to the Museum from far and wide to research their family trees and discover more about their ancestors.

Museum Shop

We have a shop packed with interesting books and gifts with a local flavour plus many small pocket money items for children.