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A rich resource for research, or a place to borrow the latest novel.
Morrab Library is an independent library established in 1818, situated in the beautiful Morrab Gardens in Penzance, Cornwall. We hold over 70,000 books on floor-to-ceiling shelves as well as archives and a rich photographic collection. The library contains a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books in floor to ceiling shelves in the rambling rooms of a delightful Victorian building.
We are open Tuesday – Saturday 10am-4pm.
Latest news
Don’t forget our annual book fair is this Saturday!
The fair starts tomorrow at 10.30am. There will be books from both our own collections and other sellers, delicious cakes & hot drinks, a raffle, photographic prints & more. As usual it's free entry and everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there!
read moreNew Display: A Journey to Space
A Journey to Space: Morrab Library, Cornwall & Beyond Inspired by a recent well attended Morrab Library talk about Spaceport Cornwall, Sue created a display of books and items from our Library collections. 50 years ago NASA sent explorers to the Moon. Now Cornwall...
read moreThe English Country House & The Novel
This blog piece was written by Library member, Jean Y. Jones. A sunny morning. In Morrab Library I sat in my leather chair, book in lap, gazing out of the Georgian window over the gardens and out to sea. The library was quiet and peaceful. The book on my...
read moreIf there is an afterlife, I very much hope that those good enough in this one might be rewarded with an exact replica of the Morrab Library – to sit out eternity browsing its shelves, reading in its chairs, and looking out of its high windows.
Whether you’re an impassioned bibliophile or just someone who loves a good read, the Morrab is for you: a Cornish treasure house, a meeting place for like-minded souls, and a vibrant forum for contemporary writing.
Formally known, in those days, as the Penzance Library, the elegant house in its beautiful garden had a welcoming atmosphere and BOOKS – rooms full of them, in shelves floor to ceiling, on every topic I could possibly want to read about…it’s…a treasure house, an island of civilization and tranquility in an ever faster and more furious world.