A WELL-loved 'jewel in Callington's crown' is under threat of closure if it cannot find new volunteers to help keep it running.

Callington Heritage Centre, which holds a vast amount of historical photographs, mem-orabilia and artefacts relating to the town's history and its residents, has a diminishing number of volunteers that keep it running and new volunteers are desperately needed if it is to continue.

The centre cannot continue to run with so few volunteers and stewards and if it was to close, all the collections and artefacts, which have been donated from people in the community over many years, would be dispersed in their entirety, leaving no point of reference for anyone from Callington and the surrounding parishes wishing to view the archives.

Kay Greenstock, who has been running the centre with the help of a couple of volunteers, is hoping several people will come forward to learn the ropes with a view to taking it over from her in the near future.

She said: 'Those of us who are running it are getting progressively older and finding it harder and harder to keep running the museum. We are now pretty desperate for people to come forward and take it over.

'I'm nearly 70 and I only took it on while we were hoping to find someone else to run it but it is getting too much for me to do. Unless people come forward to help, it will have to be closed.'

Mrs Greenstock said she was doing a lot of the work herself, with the help of a couple of volunteers who go in to do some work now and then.

'At the moment I am doing the accounts, updating the website, doing the housekeeping and the maintenance — it is taking up two or three days of my week.

'We desperately need people to come forward with a view to taking it over. It needs someone who is interested in history and museums.

'Ideally, it needs to be more than one person, as we need a chair and a secretary. I would be happy to just continue as treasurer and then we need people to help cover all the things that are involved with running the museum, such as fundraising and filling out grant applications.'

Mrs Greenstock said it was not just a case of people coming forward and taking it over straight away — interested volunteers would be taught the ropes before taking over the reins.

Callington town clerk Helen Dowdall, on behalf of the town council, said: 'For the town it holds a lot of important local history and gives people the opportunity to look at old photos and see their ancestry and roots and see how the town has evolved.

'It is especially important with the increasing popularity of TV programmes like "Who Do You Think You Are" as people are becoming more interested in researching their ancestry and there is so much knowledge kept at the centre that people can go and see.

'It is like a treasure chest and is the little jewel in Callington's crown. We will do our best to support the centre during this tough time. The volunteers who instigated the centre have done a fantastic job and now we need to encourage new volunteers to take over and guide it into the next era.'

Anyone with an interest in local history and a willingness to commit a flexible two or three hours a month, or who is just looking to pursue a different hobby, is asked to volunteer their services.

No specialist knowledge or experience is required as novice volunteers are always put with more experienced stewards to start with.

To find out more about what the Heritage Centre has to offer, pop along to the Portreeve's Community Day at Callington Town Hall on March 28 from 10am to 2pm.