Royal Cornwall Museum

The Royal Cornwall Museum sits in Truro’s historic centre, a pair of granite-fronted buildings designed by Philip Sambell. One was built in 1845 as the Truro Savings Bank, the other in 1848 as a Baptist chapel. Both were later joined by a new foyer and shop. The museum belongs to the Royal Institution of Cornwall, a learned society founded in the 19th century. Its collections reflect Cornwall’s mining past, artistic traditions and links with the wider world. The museum holds one of Britain’s finest mineral collections, started by Philip Rashleigh. It also displays Egyptian, Greek and Roman objects in a permanent exhibition supported by the British Museum. The Courtney Library offers rare books and manuscripts about Cornish life and culture. Among its treasures are the Trewinnard Coach from 1700 and the Artognou stone found at Tintagel Castle. The museum cares for Cornwall Council’s Schools Art Collection, which includes works by Barbara Hepworth and Terry Frost. Visitors enter through the linked buildings and find the mineral gallery refurbished in 2024. The Egyptian gallery displays the mummy of Iset-tayef-nakht, unwrapped in 1828 and examined by x-ray in 1969. The art collection shows Cornish creativity from Hepworth to Nicholson. The Courtney Library provides quiet study space surrounded by local history. Outside, the granite façades stand among Truro’s historic streets.