Penryn Museum

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Penryn Museum Penryn museum is located in the centre of the town. It is on the ground floor of the town hall.

Free to enter, and covers every aspect of Penryn’s fascinating history.

Penryn has a lot of listed buildings, and we have a history file all about them, as well as files on specific streets an...
16/10/2026

Penryn has a lot of listed buildings, and we have a history file all about them, as well as files on specific streets and other listed items in the town.

Contact the museum or speak to a volunteer about the history files if you're interested in learning more.

The Commercial, Shipping and General Advertiser November 21st 1891
14/10/2026

The Commercial, Shipping and General Advertiser
November 21st 1891

The CarouselsOn display in the museum are some beautiful old toy carousels. These need to be seen in person to truly app...
12/10/2026

The Carousels

On display in the museum are some beautiful old toy carousels. These need to be seen in person to truly appreciate their intricate beauty and workmanship.

Curious about any of the graves in St Gluvias? Interested in locating a specific grave?Fortunately, someone put in a lot...
09/10/2026

Curious about any of the graves in St Gluvias? Interested in locating a specific grave?

Fortunately, someone put in a lot of time and effort to make a record of where they are. One of the museums history files, titled Burial Plots, can tell you where graves (or the headstones) are in the interior of the church, in the main churchyard next to St Gluvias and in the upper cemetary along the river, by Love Lane.

Penryn and Falmouth Advertiser December 7th 1935
07/10/2026

Penryn and Falmouth Advertiser
December 7th 1935

What is the history of the museum building?Originally, it was the town market hall, likely built on the site of the old ...
05/10/2026

What is the history of the museum building?

Originally, it was the town market hall, likely built on the site of the old St Mary's Church, possibly using stone from the old church and Glasney College.

All the produce would have been inside, and customers served through the windows on either side. The road level of Higher Market Street has now changed and would have been slightly lower, whereas some sort of platform would have existed on the other side. The windows on one side have now been turned into display cases.

Below are the towns old prison cells. Above the museum is the town hall and the council chamber, which were added to the building in 1825. The clock tower was added in 1839. The space was made into an Exhibition Hall in the 1970's before it was refurbished and reopened as Penryn Museum in 1998 with a lot of hard work from dedicated volunteers then and since to make it the wonderful asset it is today.

Obey or LeaveNo one seems to know what this sign in the museum is all about, but it certainly gains some attention for p...
02/10/2026

Obey or Leave

No one seems to know what this sign in the museum is all about, but it certainly gains some attention for people walking in!

The Commercial, Shipping and General Advertiser January 17th 1891
30/09/2026

The Commercial, Shipping and General Advertiser
January 17th 1891

Penryn Viaduct is a familiar view, appearing in a lot of artwork and photographs over time. There was the original old w...
28/09/2026

Penryn Viaduct is a familiar view, appearing in a lot of artwork and photographs over time. There was the original old wooden viaduct before the one we know today, but the stone pillars from the original still stand beside it.
There was also a rail accident nearby as Hill Head in 1898. The photographs from this incident are well known. We have a display featuring many of them, as well as items relating to it, alongside general information about the viaduct.

The town of Penryn has certainly seen a lot of changes. A survey in 1996 recorded where certain shops were to create a r...
25/09/2026

The town of Penryn has certainly seen a lot of changes. A survey in 1996 recorded where certain shops were to create a record of the history of buildings at the time. Most of these shops are now something else, but the pictures from 1996 are in one of the museum history files. Looking through many history books and pictures in the museum, you can see how much the town changed. Using Google Street view, it is also possible to see Penryn at different times during the 21st century, starting with 2009.

Address

Higher Market Street
Penryn
TR108LT

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 3:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 3:30pm
Thursday 10am - 3:30pm
Friday 10am - 1pm

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