The Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery in Truro, long known as the Royal Cornwall Museum, was established in 1818 and is run by the Royal Institution of Cornwall. It occupies a Grade II building of 1845 that began life as the Truro Savings Bank and later served Henderson's Mining School.
The collections
The mineral collection is rooted in the county's mining heritage and includes much of Philip Rashleigh's collection, and there is a permanent exhibition of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman objects supported by the British Museum, including the mummy of Iset-tayef-nakht, a temple priest who lived around 600 BC. The Trewinnard Coach of about 1700 and the Artognou stone from Tintagel Castle are both here.
The library
The Courtney Library holds books, archives and ephemera relating to Cornwall and the South West, which makes the building a working reference house as well as a museum.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-11