A Brief History of Penlee House

Penlee House Gallery and Museum, initially known as Penzance Museum, was originally set up by the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society in 1839.  Its first home was in the Market House (shown below), which had just been completed.  The Museum was situated in the dome of the building and contained a mixture of Natural Science, Archaeology and Ethnological artefacts - a typical antiquarian museum of the period. One visitor described it as "a mangy lot of skins and skeletons under the charge of an imbecile old man".


c.1860

In 1867, with the construction of St John's Hall as public buildings, the growing Museum moved to new premises.  By the end of the decade, however, the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society had more-or-less ceased to exist and the Museum was in a sort of hibernation.  The society was reformed in the mid 1880s, but as no rent had been paid for the museum premises for many years, specimens were sold to raise money and to clear the debt.  Insect damage to the Natural History collection meant that much of it was subsequently destroyed.


c.1890

The Museum remained in the Public Buildings until 1947.  The society sold the collections to Penzance Borough Council in 1937 for a nominal sum, with an agreement that they would be displayed for the public good.  1939 saw the collections put into storage and unfortunately many items subsequently disappeared.  No record of the Museum's extensive Egyptian collection can be found.  Also missing is a Bronze Age gold torque, and more unusual items such as the hand of a Mummy with a gold signet ring, a shrunken head and poisoned arrows.

At the end of World War II, the owners of the Penlee Estate were planning to build on the land and to demolish the house.  The then Mayor, Robert Thomas, decided to open a public appeal and purchase the estate as a War Memorial.  The estate is about 15 acres, and the purchase price was £13,000.  It was decided to use the house as a museum and arts centre, plus two domestic council dwellings. 

The Museum was opened in its new home by Sir Cyril Fox on 24th June 1949.  It was administered by the Borough Librarian from 1949 until 1974, when Penzance lost its borough status and the Museum became the property of Penwith District Council.  In 1985, ownership of the Penlee Estate reverted back to Penzance Town Council. 

In the 1990s, substantial funding was raised from various sources, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Penwith District Council, Penzance Town Council and the Friends of Penlee House, to refurbish and develop the Museum and Art Gallery.  Overseen by Robert Allen, architect, the building was completely redeveloped, adding gallery spaces, lift access and the cafe and shop, as well as refurbishing the museum.  Care was taken to preserve the feel of the original genteel Victorian home, while providing state-of-the-art conditions for the display and care of the collections.

Penlee House re-opened in its current form in 1997 and now offers changing displays drawn from its own collections, supplemented by loans from public and private collections, reflecting the unique, rich heritage of the far west of Cornwall.