About Us

The museum and its collections have been developed over many years by dedicated people, with the support of many funding bodies. The museum stands as a testament to our soldiers, their families and communities. Looking to the future, our vision is to take the museum onto even greater things and make it a great place for telling stories and learning about our heritage.

 

Freda And Linda collecting the Cornwall Heritage Award we won for Heritage Hero.

Volunteers Linda and Freda proudly displaying our Cornwall Heritage Awards in 2019.

We’re grateful to our funders who enable us to do great projects with the community.

Storytelling workshop by Paddleboat Theatre at Cornwall's Regimental Museum

We’re a fun museum for all ages where you can learn about Cornish and World History and the people that made it happen. 

Educate, Entertain and Inspire

Our aim is to educate, entertain and inspire a broad range of people of all ages. We want to develop the museum so that it is recognised as a leader in Cornwall and in the nation’s military heritage. We also aim to make a real contribution to the wellbeing and economy of our local community and county, and to our military family.

Read our Learning and Participation Policy 2020.

Each year we welcome more schools to the museum. We offer a variety of workshops and experiences for schools with cross curricular links.

Read more about our education programme here. 

Realising our Vision

To realise our vision we need to secure the future finances of the museum and make it sustainable in the long-term. To do this, we are focusing on making the museum more accessible, appealing and relevant to a wide range of visitors, and on gathering the support of those connected to the Regiments. With the support of funders such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England we are working behind the scenes to strengthen our organisation and put in place strong foundations for the future.

To read more about how you can support us in our aims please visit the support us pages of the website.

The museum relies on many people; our trustees, volunteers and staff

The current Trustees of the museum are:

Peter Champness (Chairman)

Charles Edward-Collins 

Gage Williams

Edward Bolitho

Andrew Harbert

 

Sarah Fitzgerald

Richard Trant

Bill Sharp

Harriet Hills 

Daniel Brinson

 

Some of Our Staff & Volunteers

Helen Bishop-Stephens

Helen Bishop-Stephens

Director

Helen Bishop-Stephens joins the team at Bodmin Keep as the new Director. Helen will steer the museum through the next exciting chapter of the Keep!

I’m delighted to take up the post as Director of Cornwall’s Army Museum at Bodmin Keep. I’m from Cornwall and have found a family connection to the Keep in that my grandad and his brother both trained at the barracks.

Gabrielle O' Connor

Visitor Services and Operations Manager

Gabrielle join the Bodmin Keep team as Visitor Services & Operations Manager in October 2023. Gabrielle is responsible for all aspects of the visitor experience and ensuring the smooth running of the museum and facilities at Bodmin Keep.   

Email: Gabrielle.OConnor@bodminkeep.org.uk

 

Leah Mason

Learning Manager

Having recently completed my MA in Heritage Theory and Practice, I am very excited to be joining the Keep as the new Learning Manager. Along with my studies in history and heritage, I have spent the last six years working in schools and specialist SEND units.

I am now looking forward to working with our learning volunteer team to continue developing and delivering creative and engaging workshops for schools across the region.

Email: leah.mason@bodminkeep.org.uk

Rob Phillimore

Marketing Manager

Rob joined the team as Marketing Manager in August 2023. He’s responsible for all aspects of Bodmin Keep’s marketing, PR and communications activities. 

 

Email: rob.phillimore@bodminkeep.org.uk 

Assistant Curator

We’re currently in the process of hiring a new Assistant Curator. Details will be added soon. Stay tuned!

 

Deborah Vosper, Research Team member at Cornwall's Regimental Museum

Deborah Vosper

Research Volunteer / Duty Manager

I started volunteering at the Museum a few years ago after being made redundant. My love of family research led me to helping Hugo White with the constant stream of enquiries, which I find so rewarding, although, like all research, we occasionally draw a blank. I am also a bit of a multi-tasker, assisting in other ways around this wonderful building (including helping to eat the biscuits and cakes). We have a great team of friendly volunteers here from all walks of life, who make the place tick.

Email: research@bodminkeep.org.uk

Linda Farnham

Visitor Services Volunteer

I started volunteering in August 2016 the same month I left a stressful job and moved to Bodmin from East Devon. I love History, studying it both at college and university. I am generally a gregarious person and this role at the reception desk/shop allowed me to meet & greet visitors, chat about the museum or anything else & at the same time give me a sense of ‘belonging’. The team of staff and volunteers are so friendly, supportive and knowledgeable. I have found volunteering so fulfilling. The museum is evolving and it is great to be part of this evolution. If you have a few hours to spare, volunteer and you will learn a lot, make new friends and be part of something worthwhile.

Join our friendly museum team!

Volunteering Opportunities