Leading a private tour of visitors through Penzance we are standing outside the Egyptian House talking about the owner and mineralogist Mr. Lavin and his collection. One visitor pipes up: “we are going to the Geological Museum later.”
Sorry, but you can’t. It has been closed for some years .
But there is still a sign at the top of Morrab Road directing you towards St.John’s Hall where the collection was housed from 1815 to 1985 when the ceiling collapsed, it was reopened, but it became structural unsafe and closed permanently in 2001.The majority of the collection being moved to British Geological Survey at Keyworth, Nottinhamshire.
The Geological Society was only the 2nd one in the UK and founded in 1814. Second to the London Geological Society which was founded a few years earlier. Some famous Penzance people were important people in the society. i.e. Davies Gilbert (High Sheriff of Cornwall and consulting engineer to Trevithick and Hornblower). Sir Rose Price and Humphry Davy. Just to mention a few.
All I could do was advise the visitor to Geevor Mine which has a collection of samples in the museum
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