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Luxulyan Museum and Heritage Centre
For such a small place (pop. 1200), Luxulyan has a powerful
claim on the visitor. It lies in the path of the old Saints' Way between Padstow and
Fowey. Its church register goes back to 1593, its granite quarries supplied the stone for
Wellington's memorial, and all around it is evidence of the earliest impact of the
Industrial Revolution - most strikingly, Treffry's famous viaduct over the great valley
nearby.
Small wonder that, 20 years ago, villagers formed a local
research group whose work gained national visibility and focus with the conversion of part
of the old Bridges Methodist Chapel into a museum and heritage centre.
Here, where a centuries-old agrarian economy met the new
industrial age head-on, there is a fascinating social record of change - spiced with
reminders that, 4,000 years before the mines and trains came, the first Luxulyanites had
lived by hunting. A huge stone axe-head, found in the village, goes back at least to 2,000
BC.
Other displays - as of granite quarrying tools, remind the
visitor that some traditional local industries have survived through social and industrial
upheaval.
This is Cornwall in microcosm: an archive of centuries
fostered by local enthusiasts, constantly augmented and brought alive in winter by a
programme of lectures, and in summer by tutored walks through some of the most beautiful
and historic non-coastal scenery in Cornwall.
FACTFILE
Directions
Follow the A390 from St Austell as far as St Blazey. Take the
road signposted to Luxulyan on the left. The village is approximately four miles along
this road. The Museum is in Bridges Methodist Chapel, which is on the left when entering
the village.
Opening Times
The Museum is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays between 2pm and
5pm throughout the School Summer Holidays only. Visits can be arranged at other times by
contacting the number below.
Facilities
Toilets are available, and there is some parking adjacent to
the Chapel. When full, visitors should park in the road opposite the School.
Luxulyan Museum & Heritage Centre
c/o 13 Pembroke Close, The Mount, PAR, Cornwall
Tel: 01726 813522
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