Please read this post, Lanner WI which sadly does not exist any longer has had an old scrapbook entered into the Cornwall Heritage Awards by Kersen Kernow because this was a WI project and gives a insight into life in 1965.
Cornwall Heritage Awards 2026 Object of the Year
Cornwall Heritage Awards have celebrated Cornwall’s 80 plus museums, art galleries, castles, mines, historic properties, industrial heritage sites, archives and community museums since 2018. Every year, the most coveted Object of the Year category is decided by public vote.
This year the theme is ‘Community’. Community is at the heart of Cornwall’s story. Across generations, people here have found strength in coming together, sharing skills, traditions and experiences, and expressing their identity in many different ways.
Four Cornish heritage organisations have been shortlisted for Object of the Year 2026. Read about the objects below and then cast your vote.
Voting will close on Monday 20 April 2026 at midday. The winner will be announced at the Cornwall Heritage Awards ceremony on Tuesday 19 May 2026.
Please only vote once.
Lanner Women’s Institute (WI) scrapbook, 1965 from Kresen Kernow
Lanner Women’s Institute (WI) scrapbook, 1965. In 1965, as part of a competition inspired by jubilee celebrations, WI groups across Cornwall created scrapbooks chronicling ‘Our Village Today’. The scrapbooks are fabulous surveys of villages and everyone in them, brilliantly showcasing the community connections of the time – local love letters to people, places, landscape and traditions.
In 1965, as part of a competition and inspired by jubilee celebrations, WI groups across Cornwall created scrapbooks chronicling ‘Our Village Today’. We look after 15 WI scrapbooks at Kresen Kernow, each one a love letter to the people, place, landscape and traditions of the area.
The scrapbooks are all different, but most are handmade and handwritten, with contributions from different WI members. Many include paintings, sketches, photographs, articles and notes. They are all creative, beautifully made and record the customs, experiences and daily life of Cornish communities. From Carbis Bay and Madron in the west (describing Madron’s countryside and parish life, with photographs, text, illustrations and newspaper clippings), to St Erth (containing articles, illustrations, journals, nature notes and photographs), to Polzeath, Devoran, Par and St Blazey, Newquay, St Eval, Caradon and onwards.
The most recent addition and our chosen example for object of the year, is ‘Our village today – 1965. Lanner’. We have chosen it to represent the WI scrapbooks because it is one of the best. It details the Lanner of 1965, its people, buildings, nature, businesses, history, fashion and community – local, national and global changes since then make it a fascinating snapshot of time. It is a magnificent object reflecting and recording a Cornish community – and our shared history.
To vote go to letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk