The history, collections and the future of the Isles of Scilly Museum

Following the severe gales in the winter of 1962, Nornour (Eastern Isles) yielded some remarkable Romano-British finds, causing some St. Mary's residents to establish a local museum. Initially the only viable option was a temporary display in the Wesleyan Chapel during the summer months. After much fundraising and thanks to huge volunteer enthusiasm, the old museum on Church Street was built. It opened to the public on July 15th 1967 and received a visit from H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on August 8th 1967.

Artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age

Our collections are extremely diverse, including material from some of the 700 wrecks which surround Scilly’s shores; archaeological finds featuring an impressive range of Bronze Age Urns, a remarkable Iron sword and mirror from Bryher and over 300 Romano-British Brooches from a makeshift shrine on Nornour; stuffed birds; local art and much more besides. Thanks to the generosity of local and mainland benefactors, we have received many varied accessions for research and display purposes. We welcome any items of Scillonian provenance or directly relating to the islands.

The future of the Museum

For fifty years the Museum of the Isles of Scilly, purpose built in 1967, provided the most significant cultural attraction on St. Mary’s. In 2019 the building was deemed structurally unsafe and closed prior to demolition; work has been undertaken to store and rehouse the contents and Museum on the Move, with its 12 temporary, pop-up exhibitions, aiming to keep the museum live while work was undertaken to secure a new home for the future.

A working group including the Council, the Museum, the Duchy of Cornwall and Islands’ Partnership have been meeting to explore ideas for the future. Wider consultation has now engaged the Cornwall Museums Partnership, LEP, Cultural Investment Board and others.

The aspiration to create a new museum has evolved to reflect priorities in the Destination Management Plan as a major feature to enhance the visitor economy and improve local provision. A new museum would ideally incorporate additional flexible space with integrated functionality and access to host research, live events, and exhibitions. The preferred site for the new museum is the Town Hall on St. Mary’s, with the main hall retained as a community performance space.

The ambition is to develop and build a centre with multiple functions that can be shared to provide the most significant wet-weather, family-friendly facility on the islands. A twenty first century interpretation of a combined museum and cultural centre would cater for a diverse range of users including undergraduates, regular Scilly visitors, cruise ship passengers and community groups. There is a timely opportunity to redefine and extend the traditional perceptions of a local museum.