Yelverton Paperweight Centre

The Yelverton Paperweight Centre stood in Leg O’Mutton, a quiet hamlet near Yelverton in Devon. It began as Bernard Broughton’s private collection of paperweights after his wife inherited a French piece. Broughton, a Cornish postmaster, opened his post office to visitors to show the growing collection. In 1978 he moved to Yelverton and continued sharing the weights with the public. By his death in 1984 the collection numbered 850 pieces. The centre later expanded under Kay Bolster, who had assisted Broughton since the move. David Hunter took over in 1997 and ran the attraction until it closed. At its peak the museum held about 1,200 paperweights gathered from many countries. The displays included weights from studios such as Caithness Glass and Whitefriars Glass. Watercolour scenes of Dartmoor also decorated the walls. Visitors found glass paperweights from the United Kingdom, France, Italy and China. Some pieces bore limited-edition marks like ‘PO 79’ or ‘Y 1981’. The second series contained quartz from Bodmin Moor. The centre sold paperweights alongside its museum displays. After the closure the building was sold, ending the public life of this unusual collection.