The Morrab Library

The Morrab Library Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Morrab Library, Nonprofit Organization, The Morrab Library, Morrab Gardens, Penzance.

Housed inside the delightful Morrab Gardens, The Morrab Library contains a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books on floor to ceiling shelves in the rambling rooms of a delightful Victorian building.

With Golowan starting this month - one of our favourite festive times in Penzance - we thought we would explore our col...
07/06/2026

With Golowan starting this month - one of our favourite festive times in Penzance - we thought we would explore our collections for some information on its origins. William Borlase, in his 1754 book, ‘Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall,' describes some of the festivities back then:

“In Cornwall, the Festival Fires, call’d Bonfires, are kindled on the Eve of St. John the Baptist, and St. Peter’s Day, and Midsummer is thence, in the Cornish tongue, call’d Goluan, which signifies both Light, and Rejoicing. At these Fires the Cornish attend with lighted torches, tarr’d and pitch’d at the end, and make perambulations round their Fires, and go from village to village carrying their torches before them.”


Volunteer’s Week is drawing to a close, and while our 72 volunteers may be a little camera-shy, we cannot sing their pra...
06/06/2026

Volunteer’s Week is drawing to a close, and while our 72 volunteers may be a little camera-shy, we cannot sing their praises from the rooftops highly enough!

Without them, putting it bluntly, there would be no Morrab Library. They bring the hard work, commitment, and joy to our special place.

An enormous thank you to each and every one of you!

With the start of Summer, our Photo Fridays theme for June is Holidays!Here's the Watergate Bay Hotel near Newquay. Open...
05/06/2026

With the start of Summer, our Photo Fridays theme for June is Holidays!

Here's the Watergate Bay Hotel near Newquay.

Opening in 1900, the hotel was originally built in anticipation of a new railway that never happened. After serving as an RAF officers' mess in WWII, it was purchased by the Ashworth family in 1967.

Has anyone ever stayed here?

Photo Archive Identifier: AEJ.140

On the 18th March, we welcomed Tom Greeves as he delivered a fascinating talk about Dartmoor poet and playwright, Mark B...
04/06/2026

On the 18th March, we welcomed Tom Greeves as he delivered a fascinating talk about Dartmoor poet and playwright, Mark Beeson.

You can find the talk recording here: https://shorturl.at/6iJfP


The prizes for our Summer Fair raffle on 20th June are brilliant, with first prize being this beautiful print from local...
02/06/2026

The prizes for our Summer Fair raffle on 20th June are brilliant, with first prize being this beautiful print from local artist and member, Sarah Bell/ Artist's House Gallery - who has generously donated this framed hand-drawn print of Penzance - you can even spot the library on it!

Our friends at Penlee Park Open Air Theatre have donated tickets to one of their shows, and Barton Books (barton_books on Instagram) are supporting us again with a prize. There is also a very generous voucher donated by the beautiful Circa 21 shop in Market Jew Street, and with tickets only £1 a strip, it’s definitely worth joining us to enter the raffle alone!

We hope to see you there.

There's a new exhibition in our display case on the first floor. 'Notable Appellations' showcases famous signatures from...
30/05/2026

There's a new exhibition in our display case on the first floor.

'Notable Appellations' showcases famous signatures from the archives collections, and features letters from , , , and more.

Drop in when you can to come and have a look. You can also read our blog about the display here: https://shorturl.at/Vxful

A little bit of nautical terminology for our final Photo Friday of May.‘Tucking a pilchard seine’ was when an exceptiona...
29/05/2026

A little bit of nautical terminology for our final Photo Friday of May.

‘Tucking a pilchard seine’ was when an exceptionally large catch was netted. The "tucker" was a smaller net used to keep the bulk of the catch in the main net (centre of picture) whilst the rest of the catch was carted away. This was reputedly one of the biggest "landings" recorded in this area, in the 1920s.

Photo Archive Identifier: FISH 8.007

28/05/2026

Due to illness, we have had one space made available for our inaugural adults talk-workshop at The Morrab Library 😍
*
If you're interested in joining us, we'll begin with a short talk on the subject of Medieval identity through the exploration of seal matrices, before an arts & crafts activity designing your very own seal matrix, using locally-sourced materials🥰
*
Tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/lorepiece/2174966

Join us on the 25th June to enjoy a glimpse of just some of the Library’s array of rare, historic and important books in...
28/05/2026

Join us on the 25th June to enjoy a glimpse of just some of the Library’s array of rare, historic and important books in its collections. Included will be titles by William , Daniel Defoe, , , and , as well as a facsimile of the Cornish section of the Book, and important and rare Cornish volumes.

More info here: https://shorturl.at/gy8NA

Address

The Morrab Library, Morrab Gardens
Penzance
TR184DA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+441736364474

Website

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