We want to provide a first-class museum to showcase our permanent collections, library and archive – with the potential for exciting visiting exhibitions and loans. The refurbishment and renovation of the former Town Hall allows us to provide a new home for the Isles of Scilly Museum.
The museum will tell the stories of the island, and the main themes we’ve proposed for the galleries are based around maritime heritage, island spirit, island life and island nature.
Island Life
Since the first settlers, life on the Isles of Scilly has been a story of resilience, creativity and mutual support. Scillonians have had to live in harmony with nature, using natural resources and the capricious bounty of the sea in an enduring struggle to earn a living, build homes and sustain their communities.
Island Nature
Our cultural and natural landscapes, flora and fauna are uniquely rich, rare, beautiful and precious.
Protecting our environment is deeply important to us, including issues around sustainable water use, invasive species, tourism and climate change
Martime Heritage
As an island community, our maritime heritage is all-encompassing.
Maritime trade and travel have been the basis of our economy, society and community since pre-history, and still define island life in the age of tourism today.
Island Spirit
The Isles of Scilly are a magical place. Since the first settlements, people have lived, worshipped and died here. We see evidence of their lives and deaths in the landscape, in the names of the rocks and islands, in the literature, art and music they created, and in the wild beauty that has drawn people here for millennia.
Archaeology on Scilly
The Isles of Scilly are fortunate in having one of the densest concentrations of archaeological sites in Britain, as is reflected in the Isles of Scilly Museum collections.
Over 60% of the islands are classed as archaeologically important with 239 scheduled monuments in a land area of 16 square kilometres.
Many of these sites cover extensive areas on the islands and sometimes, as in the case of Samson, the whole island.
Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have commissioned heritage design specialists, Imagemakers, to create designs which offer an interpretation of what future museum exhibitions could look like in the new facility. The designs have been created in discussion with the Isles of Scilly Museum Association and other stakeholders.
