Mevagissey Museum
Small charity-run museum in an eighteenth-century boatbuilder’s building on Mevagissey’s Inner Harbour, with three floors of local history.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Mevagissey Museum occupies a building from 1745 that was once part of a boatbuilder’s yard, which at one time stretched out to the far corner of the cliff. The building is cut straight into the rock face, which can still be seen behind the museum’s kitchen dresser. Boats were built on the ground floor, the carpenter’s workshop was on the first floor and the top floor was used for storage.
When the last boatbuilder to work there, Arthur Frazier, retired, he offered to sell the building to the museum at a reduced price. With the help of a local benefactor, Mrs Matson, the museum’s trustees were able to buy it. Many of the roof supports are spars from old vessels, and the tools on display and the hand-turned lathe upstairs belong to the boatbuilding past of the site.
The museum now fills three floors with objects that show everyday life in Mevagissey. Larger exhibits include an apple crusher and cider press, a horse-drawn rotating barley thresher and a Cornish kitchen with a working cloam oven, alongside photographs of village life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its collections also cover fishing, boatbuilding and sail making, and its website researches the names on the village war memorial. The museum is a registered charity and won the Small Museums’ Award for Innovation at the Cornwall Heritage Awards in 2023.
Highlights
- Building from 1745 that was part of a boatbuilder’s yard, set into the cliff
- Cornish kitchen with a working cloam oven
- Apple crusher, cider press and horse-drawn barley thresher
- Photographs of village life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
- Kids’ trails (Pirate Hunt and Teddy Bear Trail)
- Online interactive heritage trail around Mevagissey
Permanent exhibition
- Mevagissey life and trades – Three floors of displays on fishing, boatbuilding and sail making, village life, a Cornish kitchen with a cloam oven, a cider press and a barley thresher.
- Founded
- 1968
- Operated by
- Mevagissey Museum (registered charity no. 1186068)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £2 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 16 · Children aged 16 and under go free. |
Adults £2; children aged 16 and under free.
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 ground floor is suitable for wheelchairs. A stair lift connects the ground floor and the first floor; the museum has three floors in all.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 16 |
|---|
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
Two themed trails for children, a Pirate Hunt and a Teddy Bear Trail, are available as PDFs to print on the museum’s website.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Several public car parks in Mevagissey are within walking distance, including those on River Street and Church Street.
From St Austell take the B3273 to Mevagissey, about 6 miles. The museum is in the Inner Harbour, at the end of East Wharf.
Get directionsAmenities & 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
| Good to know | An interactive heritage trail of Mevagissey and two printable trails for children are available on the museum’s website. |
|---|
