WALKING into Tiverton Museum is like walking into the Tardis — the unassuming exterior gives way to room after room of local artefacts and memories.

Judith Elsdon, the museum's curator, laughs. "That's what everyone who comes here says. There are lots of comments in the visitors' book that there is far more to see here than they expected and it takes a lot longer to see than they thought. It really is a very good museum," she says.

Judith is retiring at the end of next month after five years in charge of Tiverton's collection and is sad to be leaving what she calls 'this lovely museum'.

Previously, she spent 21 years as curator at the American Museum, in Bath, but has found that working in a museum so closely connected with the area has really captured her heart.

"That's the great difference between this place and the last museum I worked at — the local aspect is the really nice thing about it," she says. "People's memories, people who have used these things we are showing — some of them still live here. It is quite a close-knit community — a lot of families have been here for generations and I find it amazing how some people seem to know everybody in the town."

She has recently put on an exhibition to celebrate the museum's 50th birthday and reflects on the enormous changes it has seen in that time. "It has just grown and grown," she says. "It started off in two small rooms on Angel Hill and was the inspiration of two men, William Authers particularly, who were worried that so much was changing so rapidly after the war and they wanted to preserve things and thought it would be good to open a museum. They initially put the idea to the council, who weren't very keen on it at all."

After outgrowing several subsequent buildings, the museum moved to its current home, in St Andrew Street, in 1967. "There was a lot of work to do, as it had been a school building," Judith says. "And an awful lot of work has been done since: extensions have been added, including this block for offices and the shop, then the buildings which house the agricultural and railway galleries in the 1970s."

Before she leaves, Judith would like to see the yard and machine area improved, by adding some sort of interpretation to the exhibits. "I would like to have little films, for instance, showing the items actually in action," she says. "People can look at an old plough or harrowing machine, but they are sometimes not quite sure how it works."

The centrepiece of the museum's collection is the Tivvy Bumper, a former GWR locomotive. "I would say it is the most popular exhibit — people do love it," Judith says. "And, of course, a lot of people remember when it ran on the lines around here. In fact, we had an exhibition for 75 years since it was built and did some collecting of people's memories. They remembered going to school on it when it ran up and down the Exe Valley line. People went shopping on it and so on — there is a lot of affection for these things locally."

There is quite a collection of railway memorabilia at the museum, as the railway ran through the centre of Tiverton from the 1880s to the 1960s, when it fell victim to the Beeching axe, along with many rural lines. Transport is a popular theme and Judith says she continues to get objects donated to the collection.

"A few years ago, someone came in and asked if we would like a penny farthing bicycle," she smiles. "Of course, we said yes."

Items like that are rarer now and she says most donated objects are old photographs or archives.

However, before people head up to their attics, Judith sounds a note of caution. "We have to be careful these days on what we collect, partly because of space — either to show it or store it. You have to be able to look after objects properly and care for them and, sadly, conservation costs a lot of money," she says.

"You have to collect, too, according to your collection policy. We collect things that reflect life in Mid Devon — either things that have been used here, made here, or connect with some sort of industry or personalities from this area."

Does this marvellous local treasure trove attract a huge number of visitors? "Unfortunately, no. It is very hard to get the message over to people about this fantastic resource at their disposal. And there are a lot of people even in Tiverton who don't realise what there is here," she says with a sigh.

"I think that particularly from the outside they just expect a small museum with a couple of rooms, not realising there are around 15 different galleries and this huge amount of archive material and photographs in here. We have such difficulty in getting the information over that it is here, and here for people to use."

She admits it is hard to change perceptions, but says they do all they can by way of events, changing exhibitions and having outside organisation like camera clubs and artists come in to exhibit, while their education officer works hard with groups of schoolchildren, who are encouraged to come back with their families. "We just keep plugging away," she says. "But the museum costs money to run and that is a continual battle. We do receive small grants, but we need to raise most of our money ourselves. And for any special projects we have to go out and find grants – a lot of my time is spent on paperwork."

The museum relies heavily on its band of volunteers, who Judith is quick to praise. "We couldn't exist without our volunteers," she says. "We only have two paid members of staff and more than 60 volunteers. All the trustees are volunteers, all the people on the front desk — we couldn't open without them.

"The museum is what it is today — and I found this out by doing that recent exhibition — because of people's hard work, dedication and belief in the museum. I cannot believe how much people have put in over the years and still do. The amount of time they put in is amazing."