Blog
Tags: Archeology, Conservation, Books, Cornwall, Archives, History, Collections
Penzance Then and Now (Part 2): Promenade and Alexandra Avenue, by Sam Hill
Join our Photo Archive intern, Sam Hill for his latest blog, written during his time with us…
In the second instalment of the “Penzance Then and Now” series, I shall be using the Morrab Photo Archive Collection and some contemporary images for comparison to explore the history of the Promenade and Alexandra Avenue.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, Penzance faced an immense period of change. Enlargements to the harbour in 1825, the building of the new Market House in 1838 and the construction of the Public Buildings in 1867 were notable changes to the town. The seafront underwent the grandest changes, as the arrival of the railway and tourism led to the construction of both the Promenade in 1844 and Alexandra Road in 1865. These changes drastically altered the economic focus and social conditions of the town.
Alexandra Road was designed by 1865 by John Matthews, with the aim that it would connect Alverton to the Sea. It was opened by the Prince of Wales later in the same year. The road opened with a pair of houses, which later became the Beachfield Hotel.
After the destruction of the cottages on the opposite side of the road to the Beachfield hotel, the ornate ‘Bijou house’ was built in 1880 by Sidney Wright and was later demolished in 1950. This is now where Wherrytown car park is.
It was later in July of 1903 that the Alexandra Grounds were opened on the promenade, with the area being a designated ‘green space’ for the town. By the 1920s, a bowling green and a tennis court were built next to the St. Mary’s Church of England School. The spaces around the road eventually became the rugby pitch, Mennaye fields in 1934 and the Rotary Boating Lakes in 1955.
The Pavilion (now the arcade) was built in 1911 to serve the flourishing tourist industry. It held a restaurant, theatre, and ballroom. During the Second World War, concert parties were held within the building to keep wartime morale high.
The construction of the promenade or Marine Esplanade in 1844 drastically changed the vision of the town’s industry, as the space now catered for a tourism trade brought about by the Cornish Riviera trainline. The occupation of such space was a facet in the diminishment of the local fishing industry
Both the Mounts Bay Hotel and the Queen’s Hotel were built to accommodate the tourist trade brought about by the train line from Penzance to London. The buildings were constructed in the 1860s.
The construction of the Bathing pool, now Jubilee Pool on Battery Rocks in 1935 was one of the first achievements of the reconstructed town council. The pool was built with a distinctive Art Deco style.
I hope this blog has infused you with a great summer feeling and that it has brought back fond memories of times“promenading” along the seafront. These photos are incredibly useful for understanding how tourism and leisure changed the physical landscape, economic focus, and social conditions within Penzance.
More photos of the promenade, the town centre, the harbour, and everything in between are available on the photo archive online collection, the link to which is here: https://photoarchive.morrablibrary.org.uk/
Penzance Then and Now: Market Jew Street and Chapel Street (Part 1) – a blog by Sam Hill
Join our Photo Archive intern, Sam Hill for his latest blog, written during his time with us…
During my time exploring the Morrab Library’s Photo Archive, I have come across so many wonderful pictures of Penzance that can truly transport you back in time. As such, I thought it would be worthwhile to write the “Penzance Then and Now” blog post series, which will explore snippets of the town’s history using the library’s photo archive collections and some contemporary images I have taken for comparison. In our first instalment, I shall display a range of photos that show the history of Market Jew Street and Chapel Street.
Walking up Market Jew Street is often a daily occurrence for the people of Penzance, with its cafes, shops, and pubs being frequented by locals. The street’s name, “Market Jew Street,” derives from the Cornish words for market, marghas, and Thursday, yow, which together made marghas yow and thus “Thursday Market.”
Image 1 and 2- Train station looking up towards Market Jew Street
Image 3 and 4- Albert Street looking up towards Market Jew Street https://photoarchive.morrablibrary.org.uk/items/show/22673
At the top of the street, the Market House towers over the main artery of Penzance. The space has been occupied by a market house and a guildhall since the Penzance Corporation bought the three-cornered plot of waste land in 1614.
The current Market House is a replacement of the 17th-century counterpart, as the town’s corporations wanted to replace the old and inadequate building. The new Market House was the product of an architectural competition held by the New Corporation in 1835. The winner was H. J. Whiting, but the commission was given to William Harris. The building took two years to build and was officially opened by the Mayor, Richard Pearce, on 28th June 1838, on the day of Queen Victoria’s Coronation.
Image 5, 6 and 7- Around the top of Market Jew Street – https://photoarchive.morrablibrary.org.uk/items/show/22829 / https://photoarchive.morrablibrary.org.uk/items/show/22789
Images 8 and 9
Images 10 and 11
The adjoining street, “Chapel Street”, derives from the Chapel of St. Mary, not from the Methodist Chapel erected on the street in 1814, which is often assumed. The street is named as “Our Lady Street” in 1549 and “Lady Street” in 1665.
Image 12, 13 and 14
In the 18th century, the street began to reflect the period of steady growth of the town through the construction of various attractive buildings. These buildings were unique for the area as they were built in brick with granite dressings, with good examples being No.15 “Crownley”, No.16 “Trevelyan Hotel”, No.18, No.19, No.20 and No.45.
Image 15 and 16
Image 17 and 18
Much of Chapel Street building was undertaken in the latter 18th century, but the main front of the Union Hotel is early- 19th century stucco, with fluted Ionic pilasters and volutes. Nowadays, Chapel Street is one of the many jewels of Penzance, and is the home of a range of amazing shops, pubs and eateries.
I hope you have enjoyed looking through some of the amazing photos of Penzance held at the Morrab Library. It is impossible to cover all the areas of Penzance, but if there is a place you are particularly interested in, then please do contact the Morrab Library Photographic Archive collection or visit the website to search the archive online: https://photoarchive.morrablibrary.org.uk/
Our next display: Notable Appellations – famous signatures in our collections
After our first display of the library’s copy of the Great Bible in our new exhibition case over the last few months, it is now time for it to return to storage and be rested, while we unveil our second exhibition.
For over two centuries, our library collections have grown through donations, bequests and purchases, creating a somewhat serendipitous array of manuscripts, correspondence and volumes. As a result, a number of notable people’s signatures have been discovered, and we are excited to exhibit just a few in this display.
Ernest Shackleton: Pig Book (1908-1909), MOR/COL/32
A Pig Book was an autograph book, popular in Edwardian times, which houseguests were invited to sign after having drawn a pig whilst blindfolded. It contains many signatures, including Ellen Terry, J.M. Barrie, Robert Baden Powell, Robert Falcon Scott and this one, from Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) , the great Antarctic explorer.
Charlotte Bronte (1816-55), MOR/BRO/1
A letter from Charlotte to her friend Ellen Nussey, dated c. October 1851. It mentions a family cow and the dangers of doctors!
Donated by Prebendary Hedgeland, Honorary Librarian 1882 – 1889.
William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850): Letter to Hugh Seymour Tremenheere, 16th December, 1845 TR2/59B
As well as belonging to a distinguished Cornish family, Tremenheere (1804-1903) was an academic, barrister and worked as an inspector of both mines and schools. It is in the latter capacity that Wordsworth writes to him to suggest that “Knowledge inculcated by the Teacher or derived under her management from books” may be “too exclusively dwelt upon, so as almost to put of sight that which comes without being sought for from intercourse with nature”. And he goes on to say that “too little attention is paid to books of imagination” for “we must not only have knowledge, but the means of wielding it” which is done “more through the imaginative faculty assisting both in the collection and application of facts than is generally believed”. The importance of the imagination and experiencing the natural world, particularly for children, is ever present in Wordsworth’s oeuvre, and in his own poetic and personal growth as depicted in works like The Prelude.
William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898): Signed letter to Hugh Seymour Tremenheere, TR2/62/82
When appointed a CB (Companion of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath) in 1871, Tremenheere wrote to the Prime Minister to complain that the mere title of ‘Inspector of Mines’ in the official announcement did not fully recognise the extent of his public service. Gladstone signed the reply to Tremenheere, confirming the oversight could not be altered, while acknowledging that his public services were duly appreciated by the Government and also, he thought, recognised more widely.
Charles Kingsley (1819 to 1875): Letter to Hugh Seymour Tremenheere, TR2/62/110
The year before his death in 1875, whilst Canon of Westminster, the Devon author Charles Kingsley (Water Babies and Westward Ho!) wrote to Tremenheere, praising the latter’s cousin, William Copeland Borlase (1848 – 1899), on his book on Cornish tin. Kingsley apologises for his bad hand writing – attributed to whitlow on his middle finger!
John le Carré (1931-2020): signed text of his inauguration speech when becoming President of the Morrab Library, 1997, LIB/114
David Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, was a passionate supporter and friend of Morrab Library for many years. As well as holding the role of President from 1997-2002, he later continued for many years as our Patron. His relationship with the Library stretched even further back to the 1970’s. On the occasion of his taking on the role of President of the library in February 1992, Mr le Carré made a charming and insightful speech, providing insight into his own life as well as his obvious love for the Morrab. A full text of the speech can be found John Le Carre President speech 1997.
Winston Graham (1908-2003): Christmas card to friends, undated, LIT/17/2
Winston Graham is best known for his Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary thrillers, period novels, short stories, non-fiction and plays. He was great friends with Stella (1925 – 2017) and Frank (1911-1996) Turk, renowned naturalists and scientists, and members of the library. This Christmas card from Mr. Graham is to the Turks. We’ve also included a photograph sent to the Turks showing Mr Graham alongside the actor John Bowe, who took on the role of Poldark for television in 1996.
