New painting and display on Boscastle

We have recently acquired a new work of art by Vivienne Shanley called "Boscastle at Night".  It includes a beautiful view of the Harbour with lots of interesting things happening on the cliffs and in the night sky.  This painting is also available as a poster and a card from our online shop.

http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/shop/gb/posters/264-boscastle-at-night-poster.html

http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/shop/gb/postcards-and-greetings-cards/266-boscastle-at-night-art-card.html

The painting forms the main part of a display which answers one of the questions most commonly asked by visitors namely "Why is the Museum in Boscastle?"  There is no one answer to this question but we have posited some theories in this section of the Museum (which is near the entrance and the section on the Museum's history and founder - Cecil Williamson).

Below is the text that we have included in this display:

Why is the Museum of Witchcraft & Magic in Boscastle?

Boscastle is a magical place.  It is said that the founder of the Museum used to walk to the White Tower on the cliffs every night to ‘put the Sun to bed.’

The painting above by local artist Vivienne Shanley imagines Boscastle at Night - a place where people revere nature and where one gets the feeling that anything could happen!

The Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker was an Anglican priest, poet and antiquarian of Cornwall in the 1800s.  He described Boscastle:

'Strange, striking and utterly unique is this first   aspect of this village by the sea. The gorge or valley lies between two vast precipitous hills that yawn asunder as though they had been cleft by the spells of some giant warlock of the west...'

The Museum moved several times before it found its home in Cornwall.  The founder of the Museum, Cecil Williamson explained the Museum’s location:

‘Three miles away from this spot you can find this pre-historic maze stone carved into a living rock face (see photograph below of Rocky Valley carving), proof that from ancient times man and his magic making with the world of spirit were active in this area.  The centuries have passed and times have changed and yet all around us in this quiet corner of England there is a strange feeling that we are not alone and that the shades of persons passed on and over into the world of spirit are very close.  That is why this Museum of Witchcraft is located here.  One is standing on the edge of the beyond.’