The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) is a

Learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, United Kingdom. It was founded in Truro on 5 February 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street in 1919 to the building that was originally Truro Savings Bank. It took its current name (Royal Institution of Cornwall) in 1821 after receiving

royal patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. It is a registered charity under English law. The Royal Institution of Cornwall owns and manages the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral collection of Philip Rashleigh (1729-1811), Philip Rashleigh). The county's artistic her ...

, which has a permanent display on the history of Cornwall from prehistoric times to the present day, as well as the natural history of Cornwall including an internationally important collection of Cornish minerals, and a pre-eminent collection of ceramics and fine art. The museum building also houses the Institution's Courtney Library, which currently holds c. 40,000 printed volumes, 35,000

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s and documents,

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

from 1737, printed

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

s, prints and ephemera. It specialises in

family history Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

and

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

. There is a staffed photocopying service with a maximum order of 10 sheets, members pay a reduced charge for print-outs from

microfiche Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...

and photocopying. The library is open Monday-Friday 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm, on Saturdays 10am – 1pm and is closed on Sundays and Statutory Bank Holidays. The archives are not available on Thursdays.Courtney Library Cornish History Research Centre leaflet

References

Courtney Library & Cornish History Research Centre

Current Archaeology information

Cornwall County Council information

External links

{{authority control Regional and local learned societies of the United Kingdom Archives in Cornwall Organisations based in Cornwall with royal patronage 1818 establishments in England History of Cornwall Cornish culture Education in Cornwall Organizations established in 1818 Charities based in England