Where
Wheal Martyn is near St Austell in Cornwall. It is on the site of the former Gomm china clay works, which closed in 1931, and the Wheal Martyn pit, which is still operative.
What
“We are Europe’s only china clay museum,” says its curator Jo Moore. The museum was set up by the Wheal Martyn Trust and is now overseen by a conservation charity, the South West Lakes Trust.
It tells the story of Cornwall’s largest mining industry, its legacy, and the histories of those who lived and worked in the shadows of Cornwall’s iconic white pyramids. The old clay works became a Scheduled Ancient Monument, under English Heritage’s scheme, in 1978.
Opened
1975.
Collection
“The collection’s main strengths, apart from the Victorian buildings, lie in industrial and scientific items, vintage vehicles, tools and machinery, social history items, geological specimens and a large archive of film, photographs and documents,” Moore says.
Highlights
“It’s hard to pick out just a few objects but I would choose our 80-year-old ERF lorry, a diorama of a 1920s china clay pit, a small desk which belonged to the local poet Jack Clemo and manuscript ledgers from former clay pits, as well as Cornwall’s largest working waterwheel.”
Help at hand
Wheal Martyn has a paid staff team of eight full-time equivalents, including a manager, a curator, an education officer and grounds staff. More than 30 volunteers provide support in many roles including collections work, education, visitor services and tours. The museum’s 240-strong China Clay History Society looks after the museum’s off-site archive.
Budget
The museum’s main income is from admission fees (an adult ticket, with Gift Aid, costs £9 and gives admission for one year), with smaller amounts coming from grants, Friends’ schemes and donations.
“Commercial trading is vital to the trust’s long-term sustainability, with profits from our shop and cafe gifted to the charity to further its work,” Moore says. “We are actively working to diversify income streams and developing a detailed fundraising strategy, supported by a mentor, who is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Catalyst initiative.”
Sticky moment
“Keen to promote Wheal Martyn at every opportunity, the team set out with the museum’s vintage ERF lorry to the St Austell Torchlight Carnival,” Moore says.
“Having had a great evening, we underestimated how much the old girl drinks and were left high and dry less than a mile down the road from the museum at 10pm. It was not a simple job getting an 80-year-old lorry going again but, thanks to our marvellous mechanical volunteers, we eventually returned home.”
Survival tip
“Keep the team spirit strong with an emphasis on good communication, and encourage all staff and volunteers to be innovative and nimble in the approach to their work,” Moore says. “As an organisation, keep an open mind and be ready to grasp new opportunities with a firm eye on sustainability.”
Visitors
20,000 a year.
Future plans
Wheal Martyn is part of the new Cornwall Museums Partnership, which is funded by Arts Council England from 2015 to 2018.
“It will become a model of best practice for collections management and care,” Moore says. “We will be able to share expertise in this area with museums across Cornwall.”
Other museum plans include improvements to the interpretation on the site, the development of an educational and community performance space, enhanced trading facilities, the creation of craft workshops and the building of an onsite archive.
Wheal Martyn is near St Austell in Cornwall. It is on the site of the former Gomm china clay works, which closed in 1931, and the Wheal Martyn pit, which is still operative.
What
“We are Europe’s only china clay museum,” says its curator Jo Moore. The museum was set up by the Wheal Martyn Trust and is now overseen by a conservation charity, the South West Lakes Trust.
It tells the story of Cornwall’s largest mining industry, its legacy, and the histories of those who lived and worked in the shadows of Cornwall’s iconic white pyramids. The old clay works became a Scheduled Ancient Monument, under English Heritage’s scheme, in 1978.
Opened
1975.
Collection
“The collection’s main strengths, apart from the Victorian buildings, lie in industrial and scientific items, vintage vehicles, tools and machinery, social history items, geological specimens and a large archive of film, photographs and documents,” Moore says.
Highlights
“It’s hard to pick out just a few objects but I would choose our 80-year-old ERF lorry, a diorama of a 1920s china clay pit, a small desk which belonged to the local poet Jack Clemo and manuscript ledgers from former clay pits, as well as Cornwall’s largest working waterwheel.”
Help at hand
Wheal Martyn has a paid staff team of eight full-time equivalents, including a manager, a curator, an education officer and grounds staff. More than 30 volunteers provide support in many roles including collections work, education, visitor services and tours. The museum’s 240-strong China Clay History Society looks after the museum’s off-site archive.
Budget
The museum’s main income is from admission fees (an adult ticket, with Gift Aid, costs £9 and gives admission for one year), with smaller amounts coming from grants, Friends’ schemes and donations.
“Commercial trading is vital to the trust’s long-term sustainability, with profits from our shop and cafe gifted to the charity to further its work,” Moore says. “We are actively working to diversify income streams and developing a detailed fundraising strategy, supported by a mentor, who is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Catalyst initiative.”
Sticky moment
“Keen to promote Wheal Martyn at every opportunity, the team set out with the museum’s vintage ERF lorry to the St Austell Torchlight Carnival,” Moore says.
“Having had a great evening, we underestimated how much the old girl drinks and were left high and dry less than a mile down the road from the museum at 10pm. It was not a simple job getting an 80-year-old lorry going again but, thanks to our marvellous mechanical volunteers, we eventually returned home.”
Survival tip
“Keep the team spirit strong with an emphasis on good communication, and encourage all staff and volunteers to be innovative and nimble in the approach to their work,” Moore says. “As an organisation, keep an open mind and be ready to grasp new opportunities with a firm eye on sustainability.”
Visitors
20,000 a year.
Future plans
Wheal Martyn is part of the new Cornwall Museums Partnership, which is funded by Arts Council England from 2015 to 2018.
“It will become a model of best practice for collections management and care,” Moore says. “We will be able to share expertise in this area with museums across Cornwall.”
Other museum plans include improvements to the interpretation on the site, the development of an educational and community performance space, enhanced trading facilities, the creation of craft workshops and the building of an onsite archive.