Emily Hobhouse museum has 20,000 visits in a year
BBCA museum about Cornish heroine Emily Hobhouse has seen about 20,000 people visit in a year, managers say.
Hobhouse grew up in the village of St Ive, near Liskeard, which has seen her childhood home restored and turned into the museum called The Story of Emily.
Her work saw her expose the British Empire's treatment of women and children in concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. She was labelled a traitor at home, but is seen in South Africa as a heroine.
General manager Martin Lovell said: "It is crucial for us is make sure when people come here they have a great experience. It's not just about volume, it's about quality. They learn about Emily... that's really important."
Hobhouse saved thousands of lives by providing aid to those in concentration camps, carrying out social reforms and publishing damning reports of the horrors inflicted on those in the camps.
The rectory, where Hobhouse grew up with her father, a vicar and the first Archdeacon of Bodmin, is part of the museum, along with the War Rooms - an interactive experience about the war and Emily's part in it.
South African Marinda Vorster recently bought her uncle along to see the attraction, in particular the architecture, which has won several awards.
She said: "I think it is amazing. I think the restoration job that the did with her own home was beautiful.
"And obviously the new buildings are even more incredible... it's really well designed.
"It's part of our history, it's part of my gran's history, we've all been in tears in that War Room.
The Story of Emily has won several awards, including "outstanding achievement" in the Thea [Themed Entertainment Association] Awards.
It is believed to be the only organisation or business in the UK to be awarded an accolade in this year's international awards.
It has also been awarded gold as the New Tourism Business of the Year at the Cornwall Tourism Awards.
The Royal Fine Commission Trust Building Beauty Awards, which celebrates the best of architecture in the UK, also commended the "exquisitely crafted" museum.
Hobhouse died in 1926 in London, aged 66, but her ashes are interred in the niche in the Woman's Monument in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
