Lostwithiel Museum

About the museum

Lostwithiel Museum began in 1968, when the Lostwithiel Old Cornwall Society proposed opening a museum in the town. By 1970 the Town Council had agreed to make the old jail and Corn Exchange available, and the museum was opened on 21 August 1971 by the Earl and Countess Mount Edgcumbe, whose ancestors had rebuilt the premises in 1740. The Georgian building on Fore Street has also served as a school room, a butcher’s shop, a magistrates’ court and a fire station.

A separate museum committee was formed in 1985 to work towards registration, and the museum became a registered charity in 1994. In 2007 it gained full Accreditation, the first small museum to do so. It is run entirely by volunteers.

The collection was given by local people over the years and includes domestic objects, craft and farm tools, local ceramics, wartime memorabilia, items on law and order, medals and minerals. The largest exhibit is the town’s eighteenth-century hand-pumped fire engine, presented by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1761. A reference section holds census records and a photographic archive for family and local historians, and the museum publishes a local history journal, Museum Matters, twice a year.

Highlights

• Eighteenth-century hand-pumped Nuttall fire engine, presented in 1761
• Uniform of Joseph Burnett, Lostwithiel’s Town Sergeant who was shot in 1814
• Local ceramics, medals and minerals
• Wartime memorabilia and law and order displays
• Town history reference section with census records and a photo archive
• Weekly guided heritage walks in season

Permanent exhibitions

• Town history collections – Domestic objects, craft and farm tools, local ceramics, wartime memorabilia, law and order items, medals and minerals, all given by local people.
• Nuttall fire engine – The town’s original hand-pumped fire engine, over 250 years old, which took four pairs of men working the poles to pump water onto a fire.

Founded

1971

Operated by

Lostwithiel Museum Association (registered charity)

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The main room is fully accessible to wheelchairs; the rear room has limited access. Well-behaved dogs are welcome at the discretion of the steward on duty (on the separate Town Walk only assistance dogs are allowed).

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is at the top of Fore Street in Lostwithiel, just off the A390.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit