Archives and Cornish Studies Service

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.

This week it’s National Volunteers’ Week, a time to celebrate our fabulous team of volunteers contributing their time at...
05/06/2026

This week it’s National Volunteers’ Week, a time to celebrate our fabulous team of volunteers contributing their time at Kresen Kernow.

Our volunteers help us with document preservation, cataloguing and transcription, our family history buddy service, family craft activities and garden care.
Some fun facts for the last year of volunteering:

🌟We’ve welcomed 29 new volunteers to the team
🌟109 volunteers contributed a whopping 8299 hours of their time
🌟27 collections have been worked on and 5016 catalogue entries were created
🌟339 digital folders were prepped for a remote transcription project, each folder containing between 1-20 images
🌟1306 glass plates were scanned from the George Ellis collection
🌟170 digital recordings from old cassettes were listened to and transcribed, and 7606 documents were cleaned and packaged
🌟479 manor maps were cleaned as part of a funded project
🌟the garden team continue to delight us with beautiful flowers in our garden borders
🌟the family history buddies have welcomed researchers from near and far helping to unpick family trees
🌟the family craft team have helped deliver our free drop-in craft sessions during every school holiday period and…
🌟we’ve hosted 24 students (including 6 school work experience placements, 12 older students and 6 supported placements in partnerships with Work Your Way and United Response.
We want to say a massive thank you to the whole team for their continued enthusiasm and support, it’s a pleasure hosting them and we are incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated team who are willing to participate across the service! 🌟👏🌟👏

At the moment we’re looking for help with cleaning our documents. We use dry surface cleaning techniques using brushes and smoke sponges to remove old dust and dirt from documents. Sometimes you even get to play with a conservation hoover! We’re also looking for help with our garden borders. So, if you have some free time and would like to potter with some plants or tackle some cleaning, do get in touch via [email protected].

Usual volunteer days are Tuesday-Thursday, 9.30am-4.30pm.

Join us for our next monthly Storytale Studio session on Saturday 27 June, 10am-12pm.These creative craft sessions are i...
05/06/2026

Join us for our next monthly Storytale Studio session on Saturday 27 June, 10am-12pm.

These creative craft sessions are inspired by the wonderful collections in our library and this month we’ll be exploring the fascinating stamps and markings hidden inside books, then design and create your own unique stamps!

You will then use these to print your own artwork to take home.

Perfect for children and grown-ups alike, this hands-on session celebrates stories, creativity, and the joy of making together.

Delivered in collaboration with artist Sophie Stanley Butcher from Pop Up Paint Pot, these sessions are free and there's no need to book — just drop in and get creative with us.

This project is a collaboration with Redruth Library and is funded by the South West Regional Library Services (SWRLS).
A relaxed, welcoming session for families and young creatives alike ✨

Celebrate Redruth’s Murdoch Day with a hands on, creative activity for all ages. Join us on Saturday 13 June, 10am–12pm ...
04/06/2026

Celebrate Redruth’s Murdoch Day with a hands on, creative activity for all ages. Join us on Saturday 13 June, 10am–12pm or 1–3pm, to build your own mini town house using matchboxes.

Inspired by historic photographs of Redruth houses, you’ll imagine what the town might have looked like when William Murdoch first lit his home using gas lighting. Create a mini Murdoch house, complete with tiny rooms inside, or build a whole street of houses — each matchbox opening to reveal its own little scene.

On the day, you’ll explore historic images, design and decorate your matchbox houses, and create something small but full of character — with plenty of time to experiment, chat and get creative.

Take your creations home to play with, or send them as a gift with a message tucked inside the box. 💌

This is a free, drop in activity, suitable for all ages, part of Redruth’s Murdoch Day celebrations.

Last week we welcomed a year 12 student at Kresen Kernow for work experience. Here’s what he discovered and explored du...
04/06/2026

Last week we welcomed a year 12 student at Kresen Kernow for work experience.

Here’s what he discovered and explored during his time here:

My name is Alfred and I’ve spent a week at the Archives and Cornish Studies Service, Kresen Kernow, as year 12 work experience student, learning about the rich history of the local area and how it is preserved.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit sites like Wheal Peevor with guidance from the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site team and see the beauty of the wildlife at these historic locations with the Cornwall National Landscape team.

Fun fact: Wheal Peevor is one of only a few mines that still has all three of its engine houses! 🤩

I’ve been shown the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Historic Environment Record and all the work that goes into online mapping of these important sites for Cornish heritage. I’ve also been lucky enough to go out into Redruth with the team and explore what historic sites look like today. There may have once been a medieval market house where the tin miner statue now stands, in the middle of Redruth!

The Kresen Kernow library team have helped me explore the mining heritage of Cornwall and Redruth through publications, and I’ve had the chance to explore the original archive collections and learn how they are organised and protected with the Kresen Kernow archive team.

I’ve created a mini display case highlighting some mining finds, come and take a look at the reception desk.


Join us on Saturday 20 June, during Pride Month, for a special author talk with Dr Paul Taylor McCartney, exploring his ...
03/06/2026

Join us on Saturday 20 June, during Pride Month, for a special author talk with Dr Paul Taylor McCartney, exploring his new book 'Cornwall Uncharted: Mapping Cornwall’s Q***r History of Concealment, Culture and Creativity' (The History Press).

In conversation with fellow author and researcher Peter McAllister, Paul will trace q***r lives across Cornwall’s towns, coves, chapels, studios and lanes, drawing on archives, literature and lived landscapes. From well known figures to quieter stories, the talk explores how place shaped what could be lived, hidden, recorded — or left unsaid.

Paul will also discuss the book’s maps, illustrations and visual language, showing how images can hold meaning when the archive falls silent, and how each chapter follows a different Cornish landscape and kind of story.

Part of our programme celebrating history, heritage and creative voices. Stay for refreshments, conversation, and the chance to purchase signed copies of Cornwall Uncharted, with special giveaways available.

🎟️ Free but ticketed — book via Ticket Tailor: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/author/2058415

“The dog ate my homework”…a genuine example found in the archives. 🐶📖We’ve all heard the excuse, but here’s the proof!Th...
03/06/2026

“The dog ate my homework”…a genuine example found in the archives. 🐶📖

We’ve all heard the excuse, but here’s the proof!

This well-loved (and slightly chewed) minute book from the Trebetherick Women’s Institute, St Minver, records monthly meetings between 1980 and 1983. At first glance, it’s much like many others in our collections… until you spot the tell-tale corner. 👀

Complete with a note on the front and some very enthusiastic puppy damage, it seems one curious canine couldn’t resist getting involved in WI business!

These minute books are currently uncatalogued, but form part of the collection referenced WI/TREP—a reminder that archives aren’t just about the official record, but the everyday lives (and occasional mischief) behind them.

Because sometimes, history really has been chewed over.

Join Speak Cornish THIS THURSDAY 4 June, 2-3.30pm, to learn some Cornish!Aimed at beginners or people with just a little...
02/06/2026

Join Speak Cornish THIS THURSDAY 4 June, 2-3.30pm, to learn some Cornish!

Aimed at beginners or people with just a little Kernewek but open to all, it’s free and there’s no need to book.

Splann!

Celebrate Pride Month with colour, creativity and community! 🏳️‍🌈Join artist James Frost at Kresen Kernow on Saturday 6 ...
02/06/2026

Celebrate Pride Month with colour, creativity and community! 🏳️‍🌈

Join artist James Frost at Kresen Kernow on Saturday 6 June, 10am–3pm, for a joyful, hands on workshop where you’ll design, cut and heat press your own q***r slogan t shirt.
Inspired by the Outback newsletters and other q***r histories from our collections, this workshop celebrates visible q***r joy, self expression and camp creativity. Whether your slogan is playful, political, tender or loud, this is your chance to wear your words with pride.

The day will include:
✨ a short artist talk exploring slogan art, q***r camp and humour
✨ a heat press and letter cutting demo
✨ open making time to design, print, chat and connect
✨ breaks for tea, lunch and socialising
All materials are provided — including a blank t shirt — and hot water will be available for drinks. The Arch Café will be open for lunch, there are also shops nearby or feel free to bring your own.

🎟️ £20 per person, including all materials
📍 Ages 16+ (due to craft knives and heat press equipment)
👉 Booking via the Frosty Studio Eventbrite page - http://tiny.cc/kernowq***rpress
📩 Access needs or questions? Contact .studio on Instagram
Come as you are and leave with a t shirt that says exactly what you want it to.

***rHistory

Our Weekly Reads for June are highlighting new books at Kresen Kernow and we begin with Michael Messenger’s ‘Diesels Sou...
01/06/2026

Our Weekly Reads for June are highlighting new books at Kresen Kernow and we begin with Michael Messenger’s ‘Diesels South West: the early hydraulic years in photographs.’ 🚂📖

This book takes us on a journey from St Erth in the far West up to North Devon and down to the Dorset coast, covering both Southern and Western routes. All sorts of trains are recorded, including branch line freight and passenger workings, milk trains, the various types of DMUs (diesel multiple units) and expresses.

It is full of black and white photographs, well composed, informative and mostly taken before the mid-1960s. Over 40 pages cover Cornwall including the book’s cover image of D801 Vanguard coming into Redruth with the up Kensington milk train in 1962.

It’s Manorial Monday! 🥳 Today we’re highlighting this colourful map of the manor of Boswednack and Treen within the pari...
01/06/2026

It’s Manorial Monday! 🥳 Today we’re highlighting this colourful map of the manor of Boswednack and Treen within the parish of Zennor. The original map was drawn by Charles Moody around 1780, but it was then copied by Henry Bodilly, a clerk in the office of Nicholas Whitley.

The manor belonged to the Arundell family and its descendants until it became the property of Davies Gilbert Esquire. It’s not only visually beautiful, but shows lots of information about land use including mine shafts, chapel well ruins, boundaries, burrows and medieval strip field systems.

We also enjoy thinking about the historic place names, such as ‘Bos’ meaning dwelling, and ‘Treen’ (Trethyn or Trethene), meaning farm by the fort or stronghold.

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

Telephone

+441209614430

Website

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