Close

Visit Penlee House & Museum

Penlee House is a Gallery, Museum, Cafe and Shop. Situated within Penlee Park, a space to reflect and great for family visits.

Click on the links on the right to find out more.

Close

A space for exhibitions & events

Alongside our Exhibition programme we run a variety of community events and workshops. The Newlyn School and Social history galleries change often. Find out what’s on.

Click on the links on the right to find out more.

Close

A space to learn

Penlee House is committed to lifelong learning. We run workshops for all age groups and offer a school workshop programme.

Click on the links on the right to find out more.

Close

A space for all

Built in 1865, as the home of the Branwell family. Penlee House is home to many paintings by members of the Newlyn School. It is also home to the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society collection.

Click on the links on the right to find out more.

Close

You can search and browse our collections online. We also have a section dedicated to the Newlyn School.

Fletcher, WT Blandford

William Teulon Blandford Fletcher was a member of the Newlyn colony only fleetingly. He was a close friend of some of the artists, however, and remained in contact long after he ceased to visit west Cornwall.

Biography

WTB Fletcher – 1858 – 1936

Born to a solidly middle-class family in Hampstead, London, Fletcher battled parental opposition to train as an artist, enrolling in the South Kensington School of Art at the age of 16. During his four years there, he made a trip to Brittany, where artists such as Stanhope Forbes, who were rejecting the British studio painting tradition in favour of European ‘plein air’ realism. Their inspiration led him to continue his studies in Antwerp, where he met further future Newlyners Frank Bramley and Fred Hall.

After a further visit to Brittany, in 1885 he joined his friend Stanhope Forbes in Newlyn, where the now famous art colony was establishing itself. For some reason, however, Fletcher felt Newlyn lacked subjects that appealed to him to paint and despite the fact that Forbes and Albert Chevallier Tayler made expeditions to find suitable subjects for him, within a year he stopped trying and he and Tayler both went off to find ‘fresh fields and pastures new’.

Although Fletcher remained friendly with many of the Newlyn School artists and adhered to their ethos of plein air realism throughout his career, he did not return to live in Cornwall and died in Oxfordshire in 1936.

Portfolio

Have you seen?


Visit Us

Penlee House is a beautiful art gallery and museum, set within sub-tropical gardens, with a great café.

Discover More

Exhibitions

Our vibrant exhibition programme celebrates the nationally important art and history of West Cornwall.

Discover More

Learning

From school visits to family activities, talks and walks, there are plenty of learning opportunities at Penlee House.

Discover More

Our Café

Enjoy a delicious lunch or coffee at the Orangery Café, with its sunny terrace overlooking the park.

Discover More