| Morrab Library | |
|---|---|
 Morrab library | |
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| Former names | Penzance Library |
| General information | |
| Location | Penzance, Cornwall |
| Coordinates | 50°6′57″N5°32′13″W / 50.11583°N 5.53694°W |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Morrab Library is a subscription library in Penzance, Cornwall in England.
The library, situated in Morrab House within Morrab Gardens, was founded in 1818 and is financed through membership subscriptions, legacies, grants, and a regular contribution from the Dennis G C Myner Charitable Trust. [1]
The Morrab Library holds over 60,000 books, and extensive archive collections. Notable collections include the Dawson Napoleonic Collection comprising over 3,000 engravings and prints, photographic collections of over 15,000 prints and negatives, extensive runs of 18th and 19th century journals, the Jenner Collection of Cornish and Celtic books, and over 2,000 books printed from the 16th to 18th centuries. [2]
The Morrab Library was originally known as the Penzance Library, and was officially formed at the beginning of 1818. It emerged out of the activities of two Penzance book clubs, one each for ladies and gentlemen. The Ladies Book Club was the earliest, created in 1770 (possibly making it the only one of its kind outside London at the time), [3] and lending books to its members for four days at a time. The Gentleman's Book Club followed in 1779. [3] The first president was Sir Rose Price Bart of Trengwainton and by 1820 the library had over one hundred members. [3] [4]
The Library was first located in an apartment at Cummins's Hotel in Penzance's Market Place, before moving, in 1818, to Geological House at 10 North Parade where it shared premises with the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall and the Agricultural Society. During 1867 the Library moved to the new Public Buildings (now known as St John's Hall) in Alverton Street. [5] [6]
The Morrab Library is housed within Morrab House in the Morrab Gardens, which was built in 1841 for the brewer Samuel Pidwell. [3] The house is described as "...a large stucco villa in the Georgian manner with columned porch" and is a grade II listed building. [7] Shortly after the Pidwell family moved to Portugal, it became the home of Charles Campbell Ross, Member of Parliament for the St Ives constituency from 1881–1885. [8] On 16 July 1888 the house and walled gardens were bought by the Corporation of Penzance for £3,120 for use as a municipal park. The gardens opened on 27 September 1889 with a half day holiday and a procession through the streets. The library moved into Morrab House in the same year. [9]
The Morrab Library is a member of the Independent Libraries Association, which was founded in 1989. [10]
Marazion is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and at high water passenger boats carry visitors between Marazion and St Michael's Mount. Marazion is a tourist resort with an active community of artists who produce and sell paintings and pottery in the town's art galleries.
Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about 64 miles (103 km) west-southwest of Plymouth and 255 miles (410 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, and Heamoor. Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200.
Carbis Bay is a seaside resort and village in Cornwall, England. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of St Ives, on the western coast of St Ives Bay, on the Atlantic coast. The South West Coast Path passes above the beach.
William Borlase, Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works The Antiquities of Cornwall and The Natural History of Cornwall (1758), although his plans for a parish-by-parish county history were abandoned.
Towednack is a churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is bounded by those of Zennor in the west, Gulval in the south, Ludgvan in the west and south, and St Ives and the Atlantic Ocean in the north and east. The church is about two miles (3 km) from St Ives and six miles (10 km) from Penzance.
Morrab Gardens are a municipal garden covering 1.2 ha to the south of Penzance town centre, Cornwall. It is known for its Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants; and for housing the Morrab Library in the grounds.
Cornish wrestling is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’" in the Cornish dialect of English; historically, this usage is attested by Chaucer, Shakespeare and Drayton.
Chacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Redruth. The hamlets of Carnhot, Cox Hill, Creegbrawse, Hale Mills, Jolly's Bottom, Salem, Saveock, Scorrier, Todpool, Twelveheads and Wheal Busy are in the parish. The electoral ward is called Chacewater & Kenwyn. At the 2011 census a population of 3,870 was quoted.
Paul is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the civil parish of Penzance. The village is two miles (3 km) south of Penzance and one mile (1.6 km) south of Newlyn.
John Coulson Tregarthen was a British field naturalist and author, described as "the best loved Cornishman of his time".
Ludgvan is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, UK, 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northeast of Penzance. Ludgvan village is split between Churchtown, on the hill, and Lower Quarter to the east, adjoining Crowlas. For the purposes of local government, Ludgvan elects a parish council every four years; the town elects a member to Cornwall Council under the Ludgvan division.
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance in west Cornwall, England. It is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line from Plymouth and situated 326 miles 50 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. It is the southernmost railway station in Great Britain. The first station opened in 1852 and through travel to and from London commenced from 1859 with the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge. The station was rebuilt by the Great Western Railway in 1876 and the current layout was the result of a further rebuilding in the 1930s. As of 2023, the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Great Western Railway who also operate train services there, together with CrossCountry.
Wherrytown is a small settlement in west Cornwall, United Kingdom, on the east side of the Laregan River, between Newlyn and Penzance. It was formerly in the civil parish of Madron and was incorporated into the Borough of Penzance in 1934 when local government was reorganised.
Charles Campbell Ross was a British politician and banker based in Penzance, Cornwall. The grandson of the banker Joseph Carne through his eldest daughter Mary, he was educated at Brighton College, he was leading member of the Penzance Borough Council in the 1880s serving as mayor five times in 1877, 1878, 1879, 1881 and 1883. During this period he was also member of parliament for the St Ives constituency (1881–1885) as a member of the Conservative Party. The General Election of 1885 was "fiercely contested" and he was defeated by the Liberal candidate, Sir John St Aubyn.
John Ralfs was an English botanist. Born in Millbrook, near Southampton, he was the second son of Samuel Ralfs, a yeoman of an old family in Hampshire. He has been commemorated in the names of many plant groups and taxa at many levels.
Penlee House is a museum and art gallery located in the town of Penzance in Cornwall, and is home to a great many paintings by members of the Newlyn School, including many by Stanhope Forbes, Norman Garstin, Walter Langley and Lamorna Birch. Penlee House is currently operated by Penzance Town Council in association with Cornwall Council. Well-known works from the renowned Newlyn School include The Rain It Raineth Every Day by Norman Garstin, School is Out by Elizabeth Forbes, Among the Missing by Walter Langley and On Paul Hill by Stanhope Forbes.
Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society (1839–1961) was a local society founded in Penzance in Cornwall, England, UK, whose aim was "the cultivation of the science of Natural History, and for the investigation of the Antiquities referring to the early inhabitants."
Penzance RFC formed in 1876, was a rugby union club based in Penzance, Cornwall, England. They amalgamated with Newlyn RFC in 1944 to form Penzance and Newlyn RFC, currently known as the Cornish Pirates.
The Egyptian House is a grade I listed building in the Cornish town of Penzance. It is built in the style of Egyptian Revival architecture and has been in the ownership of the Landmark Trust since the 1970s. The current building dates from 1835 to 1836.
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