National Maritime Museum Cornwall

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NMM Cornwall, Falmouth DSCN1436NMMCornwall.jpg
NMM Cornwall, Falmouth

The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall, England. The building was designed by architect M. J. Long, [1] following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions.

Contents

The museum grew out of the FIMI (Falmouth International Maritime Initiative) partnership which was created in 1992 and was the result of collaboration between the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the former Cornwall Maritime Museum in Falmouth. It opened in February 2003. It is an independent charitable trust [2] and, unlike other national museums, receives no direct government support.

Its mission is to promote an understanding of boats and their place in people's lives, and of the maritime heritage of Cornwall. [3] It does this by presenting the story of the sea, boats and the maritime history of Cornwall. It maintains the National Small Boats Register (NSBR).

Boats

The Museum manages the National Small Boat Collection, [4] which came from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, in addition to its own collection of Cornish and other boats. Famous boats on show in its collection include:

The museum is the country's premier museum for boats and maintains the National Small Boat Register (NSBR) of small boats (under 33-foot) and invites owners of historic craft to register them. [5] [6]

Cornwall's maritime history

Three galleries are devoted to the maritime history of Cornwall. These cover topics such as Cornish fishing, trading, boatbuilding, wrecks and emigration.

The Falmouth gallery also tells the story of:

Main galleries

  • Falmouth Gallery
  • Cornwall and the Sea
  • Cornish Quayside

Exhibitions

"Monsters of the Deep" exhibition (July 2020 - January 2023) National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Monsters of the Deep 11.jpg
"Monsters of the Deep" exhibition (July 2020 – January 2023)

The museum has a programme of annual exhibitions including titles such as:

There is also a programme of temporary exhibitions, talks and activities. [3]

Other facilities

The museum has a waterside café overlooking the harbour, a shop, space for temporary exhibitions, and the Sunley Lecture Theatre.

Bartlett Library

The Bartlett Library is the centre of the museum's research and provides answers on maritime matters for specialists and amateurs alike. As well as holding many of the original port records for Falmouth, it has over 16,000 books and a very large number of magazines, cuttings and illustrations. [7]

Awards

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall has been nominated for and won a number of awards including:

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References

  1. "Information on Mary J. Long, architect, from Long/Kentish Practice website". Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  2. "NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL TRUST, registered charity no. 1067884". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. 1 2 NMMC website
  4. NMMC website – our collections page.
  5. "NMMC website – National Small Boat Register". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  6. "About the Registers". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. National Historic Ships. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  7. Bartlett Library online public access catalogue.

50°09′05″N5°03′42″W / 50.15139°N 5.06167°W / 50.15139; -5.06167