If you are researching your family or local history in the Looe area, then the museum is the place to come. Not only do we have a great team of volunteers who are usually available to assist you in your research, but we also have access to family history records, registry office indices, census and local cemetery records etc.

Looe is not just divided into East and West, if you are researching your family history, you might also need to look under St Martin’s and Talland parishes. You may also find information in Lansallos Parish (Polperro), or Morval.

What resources we have in the museum

• A collection of local books with information about Looe’s history, many of which are out of print.
• A photographic archive, many of which are available to view on our Flickr site
• Family history records
• General Register Office indices for births, deaths and marriages dates on microfiche
• Monumental Inscriptions for local churchyards
• Looe Cemetery records
• Access to historical censuses
• Donated family histories and research
• Collections of articles, notes etc on local subjects
• Local Maps and plans

​A small charge is made for use of the computers, film readers and photocopying to support the service, and we welcome donations to support the work of the Museum Trust, a registered charity.

Access to wi-fi is free.

Who was your Great Uncle?

During the Lockdowns we have answered over 50 family history requests and I am very grateful to our volunteers, Penny and David, who give so much of their spare time to research the information needed. Because of the loss of income to the museum over the last year or so, we have decided to ask for a minimum donation of £10 when carrying out Family History Research. Our volunteers work very hard with the many requests that we get every year, and some can take a considerable amount of time, so we hope you don't mind us making this request?

​On-line resources for family history

Cornwall Family History Society
Cornwall Online Parish Clerk: Looe
Cornwall Online Parish Clerk: Talland
​Cornwall Online Parish Clerk: St Martins by Looe
​Cornwall Online Census Project:  Census from 1841 to 1891
Cornwall's War History Remembered
FreeBDM (Births, Deaths & Marriages)
​Genuki: Looe
Kresen Kernow, The Official Cornwall Archives
The Malcolm MacCarthy Document Collection: Looe
The National Archives