Royal Cornwall Museum at risk of closure

The Royal Cornwall Museum is at risk of closure after Cornwall Council rejected its funding bid.

The local authority received 51 applications for arts and culture funding, totalling just under £7m, but its budget for culture and the arts over the next four years is £1,868,000. The decision means the museum in Truro is the only county museum in the UK that doesn’t receive local authority funding, its directors said.

The museum houses a significant archive of local mining history and materials, as well as the Courtney Library and Archive. 

“This decision will directly lead to the imminent closure of Royal Cornwall Museum and the Courtney Library”, the museum's directors said in a statement, describing it as “the showcase for Cornish heritage”.

“We are still in the process of understanding why, and the decision is even more disappointing considering the great successes we have had over the past two years,” they added. 

“The museum plays an important part in the vitality of Truro city centre and tells the story of Cornwall’s unique heritage and culture.”

The museum has faced financial difficulties in previous years. It closed for eight months in January 2020, citing a “challenging funding climate”.

Carol Mould, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, told Cornwall Live that a priority was to “encourage vibrant, supportive communities where people help each other live well”, a goal that can be facilitated by “the great wealth of culture and creativity that is synonymous with Cornwall”. 

She added that that council hopes to work with organisations that were unsuccessful in their funding bids “to unlock other potential funding opportunities from partner organisations in the future”.