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St Ives Local Podcast
The history of St Ives Museum
Season 1, Ep. 7
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Today we speak with Andy Smith, curator of St Ives Museum, about the history of one of the town’s most cherished institutions.
Andy explores the museum’s origins over 100 years ago with the Old Cornwall Society and its mission to preserve Cornish culture and heritage. He also shares stories of the building itself — once a fish cellar, cinema, and sailors’ mission — and reflects on his own journey from engineering into heritage.
Over the last 4 years, the museum has been exploring the history of art in St Ives from the 1830s onwards. And the 2026 exhibition focuses on representational art from 1930 to 1960
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