Archives and Cornish Studies Service

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Archives and Cornish Studies Service Home to a million and a half original documents, books & photographs relating to Cornwall's history! Provider of activities & resources linked to these!

Connecting, collecting and inspiring people here and across the world with Cornwall's archive history. The Archives and Cornish Studies Service is based at Kresen Kernow, Cornwall's new archive centre, in Redruth. Home to 1.5 million documents covering 850 years of history, everyone is welcome to visit us and view our amazing collections.

🧵 Kings and saints, smugglers and sailors. Myths, milestones and moments – a thousand years of Cornish history stitched...
13/10/2026

🧵 Kings and saints, smugglers and sailors. Myths, milestones and moments – a thousand years of Cornish history stitched onto cloth!

53 of the remarkable Cornwall Tapestries (formerly known as the Tregellas Tapestries) have travelled from Kresen Kernow to the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston for ‘History Stitched: Cornwall Tapestries’, on display until 19 December 2026.

Created by embroiderers from across Cornwall and inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, these vibrant panels bring Cornwall's rich history and mythology to life, one stitch at a time.

While most of the collection is away, four tapestries remain on display at Kresen Kernow, including the pieces on shipping, smuggling, the Spanish Raid and medieval prosperity.

If you're missing them, you can still explore the full collection on the digital screen in our reception. Or why not take the opportunity to see them gathered together in Helston?

The Museum of Cornish Life is also hosting a special talk on 17 October, offering a chance to discover more about the story behind these extraordinary, embroidered scenes and the people who brought them to life.

To find out more visit their website: https://museumofcornishlife.co.uk/whats-on/exhibition-history-stitched-cornwall-tapestries-3rd-october/

Our Weekly Reads continue to explore travelling through Cornwall as we highlight our current exhibition, ‘Journeys’, and...
12/10/2026

Our Weekly Reads continue to explore travelling through Cornwall as we highlight our current exhibition, ‘Journeys’, and this week we are looking at ‘Trelawny’s Cornwall’ by Petroc Trelawny.

Radio 3 presenter, Petroc Trelawny, is inspired to return to his childhood home in Cornwall and rediscover the place where he grew up.

He sets off on a pilgrimage that sees him visit old mine workings, ancient churches, sites of new technology and places where poets, musicians, architects and film makers have worked to shape Cornwall's cultural identity.

As he travels by road, rail and foot, he describes vivid figures and scenes from memories, telling the story of a loving family and inspiring landscape.

! 🥳🗺️ We are busy installing a new pop-up exhibition of our favourite manor maps. They have been chosen by the manor ma...
12/10/2026

! 🥳🗺️ We are busy installing a new pop-up exhibition of our favourite manor maps. They have been chosen by the manor maps team and our wonderful mapping volunteers. Come in next week to see which ones were chosen. The exhibition will be on until January 2027. The images here are some clues to which ones we’ve chosen…


What was your favourite school trip? 🚌🧳Was it a visit to a local castle, a museum, or perhaps an adventure much further ...
10/10/2026

What was your favourite school trip? 🚌🧳Was it a visit to a local castle, a museum, or perhaps an adventure much further from home?

These brochures document school trips to Paris organised by Mounts Bay School, Penzance, in the early 1990s.

Deposited by a former teacher, the collection also includes ski trip brochures and photographic slides used to promote future excursions.

Packed with travel tips, currency guides and practical advice, the brochures capture the excitement of preparing for a journey abroad. For many pupils, these trips would have created memories lasting long after they returned home.

Inspired by the themes of travel and adventure explored in our current exhibition ‘Journeys’, these records remind us that every journey starts somewhere, whether it's a day trip to a local heritage site or a coach journey across the Channel.

Today, Kresen Kernow continues to support learning through free school visits and workshops for primary-aged children, loan packs and work experience opportunities for secondary students, and group visits for college and university students.

What school trip do you remember most fondly?

Happy World Egg Day! 🥚This egg and spoon race at Liskeard Young Farmers sports event was photographed by George Ellis an...
09/10/2026

Happy World Egg Day! 🥚

This egg and spoon race at Liskeard Young Farmers sports event was photographed by George Ellis and featured in the Cornish Guardian on 27 June 1940.

The original glass plate negative had suffered significant damage over the years, but careful digital restoration by a member of our team has brought this lively sporting scene back to life.

The George Ellis collection contains around 95,000 fragile glass plate negatives documenting life in Cornwall from the 1940s onwards. Digitisation is vital to preserving these remarkable images, protecting them from further damage and making them accessible to everyone. Thanks to support from organisations including Historic England and The National Archives, thousands of images have already been digitised, catalogued and shared.

As World Egg Day celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, we're delighted to share one of Cornwall's most entertaining historic egg-related moments!

Join author and illustrator Alasdair Hoswell on Wednesday 28 October, 10am-12pm, for a spooktacular morning of Cornish l...
08/10/2026

Join author and illustrator Alasdair Hoswell on Wednesday 28 October, 10am-12pm, for a spooktacular morning of Cornish legends, magical storytelling, games, crafts and creativity. Discover piskies and spooky creatures from Cornish folklore, learn some Cornish Halloween words, enjoy parachute games and create your own magical characters.

Come dressed in your favourite Halloween costume and get ready for a fun-filled adventure celebrating Cornish stories, language, culture and creativity. Suitable for all ages and drop in – no need to book!

✨🌙 Create your own glowing moon and star candle holder this October half-term! 🌙✨Inspired by a fascinating astrology cha...
08/10/2026

✨🌙 Create your own glowing moon and star candle holder this October half-term! 🌙✨

Inspired by a fascinating astrology chart from 1786, join us on Tuesday 27 and Thursday 29 October, 10am-12pm, for some celestial creativity at Kresen Kernow.

Using colourful tissue paper, decorate a glass jar and add moon and star shapes to create a beautiful candle holder to take home. You can even add a wire handle to turn it into a mini lantern, perfect for autumn walks or hanging up at home.

This free drop-in activity is suitable for all ages. We'll have tuff trays and soft toys for babies, younger children can enjoy ripping and sticking tissue paper, and older children and adults can get creative with their designs while exploring the historic chart that inspired the craft.

No need to book, just drop in and join us for a magical morning of making. ⭐

What creatures haunt Cornwall's past and imagination?Join local author, Luke Thompson, on Saturday 17 October, 2-3.30pm,...
07/10/2026

What creatures haunt Cornwall's past and imagination?

Join local author, Luke Thompson, on Saturday 17 October, 2-3.30pm, as he introduces ‘A Cornish Bestiary’, a captivating compendium of Cornwall's most curious creatures.

Discover animals real, imagined, feared and celebrated through folklore, natural history, song, literature and local tradition.

Expect ghost dogs, dragons, big cats, owlmen and much more.

🎟️ Free tickets available now. Booking essential as places are limited: https://buytickets.at/kresenkernow/2404120
a.thompson

🎃 This October, we're getting a little spooky for the Storytale Studio session!Inspired by the library's collection of g...
07/10/2026

🎃 This October, we're getting a little spooky for the Storytale Studio session!

Inspired by the library's collection of ghost stories, we'll be drawing from a spooky still life using ink, exploring line, texture and all the mysterious effects this versatile medium can create.

For our youngest visitors, and anyone keen to embrace the Halloween spirit, there'll also be the chance to make some delightfully creepy ink splat monsters!

King Arthur, knights, quests and legends... folklore has inspired storytellers for centuries.For October's Explore Your ...
06/10/2026

King Arthur, knights, quests and legends... folklore has inspired storytellers for centuries.

For October's Explore Your Archive theme, folklore, we're highlighting ‘King Arthur's Wood’, a remarkable book written and illustrated by Elizabeth Adela Forbes for her son, Alec.

Published in 1904, it retells the adventures of Sir Gareth of Orkney from Sir Thomas Malory's ‘Le Morte d'Arthur’. Filled with charcoal drawings and watercolour paintings, the book brings Arthurian legend vividly to life.

Forbes, who founded the Newlyn Art School with her husband Stanhope Forbes in 1899, and helped establish Newlyn Art Gallery, was one of Cornwall's most influential artists. Her talents shine through every page of this extraordinary volume, which is almost too large for small hands to hold.

What are your favourite stories from Arthurian legend?

Address

Kresen Kernow, Little Vauxhall
Redruth
TR151AS

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4pm
Saturday 9:30am - 4pm

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+441209614430

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