The Mapping Museum research project was created to look at the increase in the number of museums in the UK. As part of this project, Richard Larn was interviewed about the Charlestown Shipwreck Museum.

Explore more about the Mapping Museum project here and read Larn's interview below:

Interview summary

Name of person being interviewed: Richard Larn

Location of interview: Café in Hugh Town, Scilly Isles

Date of Recording: 13 March 2019

Recording Length: 00:33:10 + 00:50:25 + 00:03:36

Name of interviewer: Dr Toby Butler

Description: The Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre displays a large private collection of over 8,000 artefacts from over 150 shipwrecks, mostly amassed by shipwreck divers and authors Richard and Bridget Larn; the centre is in Charlestown, Cornwall, a small harbour town mostly built in the 18th century which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Summary of main points in interview: Richard Larn outlines his background and upbringing. He became a merchant seaman, then joined the Royal Navy and he established sports diving as an accepted naval sports activity, establishing the Royal Naval Air Service Sub-Aqua Club. He read about a ship that had sunk off the Isles of Scilly in 1707 and arranged a trip with 12 divers in 1964. In 1967 they found the wreck and discovered cannon and gold coins, and gained international publicity.

Larn served in the Navy for 22 years, reading up on shipwrecks when on leave. On leaving the Navy he was invited to set up a factory in Cornwall to make water-testing equipment. Concerned that 70 divers a year were dying in the North Sea, he and a colleague set up a commercial diving school in Charlestown called Prodive. He met with the Government Inspector for diving who set up a committee to look into establishing mandatory diving qualifications for commercial divers in the North Sea.

Approached regarding ideas for an alternative source of income for Charlestown, Larn suggested tourism and setting up a local history museum or a shipwreck museum using his collection of finds. Planning for 20,000 visitors per annum, in the first year they got 75,000 people.

He describes the museum building and how they visited museums in London to ask advice and look at technical aspects of displays. Selling his share in Prodive, Lunt spent five years treasure-hunting with his wife. He then moved to the Longstone Shipwreck and Heritage Centre in the Isles of Scilly, which he took over. He is particularly pleased to have been involved in writing the first shipwreck registers for Lloyds, and describes the work on these and other books. He mentions lobbying his MP John Nott to work on a Protection of Wreck Act.