by Lisa Di Tommaso | May 14, 2026 | Blog, Events, News
We were delighted to host a visit from His Royal Highness Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester, as he visited Penzance, accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho.
The Duke met staff, volunteers and members, and was given a tour of our beautiful building and its collections. Lisa put on a display of some of the treasures from the rare books, archive and historic newspaper collections, and David Puddifoot spoke with the Duke about our photographic archive, after which he enjoyed lunch with us.
Honorary Librarian Harry Spry-Leverton, said: “It was an enormous privilege to welcome His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester to the Library today, to meet our staff and volunteers, and to inspect some of the treasures, archives and books in our collections built up over some two hundred years. The Morrab Library is Cornwall’s only independent library, one of less than fifty now across the country, and this Royal visit both confers recognition and will be remembered as a memorable and historic occasion.”
The Duke also paid a visit to our wonderful neighbours at the Gardener’s House, and took a stroll around the Morrab Gardens in the sunshine.
We loved the opportunity (as ever!) to share the story of our library, to talk about the unique collections and to celebrate the Morrab Library community.
Special thanks to the Gardener’s House for their help and support in coordinating the visit, and to Lavender’s Deli in Alverton St. for their delicious catering.
by Lisa Di Tommaso | Feb 13, 2024 | Blog, Events, Morrab Library, Uncategorized
We are delighted to invite you to take part in the ILA Annual Meeting, to be held on the 30th and 31st May at The Morrab Library in Penzance, Cornwall.
Library staff, trustees, and volunteers are all welcome to deliver a paper, lead a discussion, or share your experiences around the theme of “Facing the Future: Responding to the challenges faced by Independent Libraries”, either in person, or via ZOOM.
Fundraising, governance, volunteers, the climate crisis and more – independent libraries need to confront a range of challenges in order to remain sustainable and future-proof. How are our libraries addressing the issues that are crucial to ensuring our survival and relevance? Proposals could include:
- Successful fundraising projects at your library, large or small;
- Tips and tricks on writing successful fundraising applications;
- Encouraging and supporting volunteers in the various roles they play;
- Managing a significant volunteer project;
- Experience of making old and even listed buildings more environmentally sustainable;
- How good library governance can support change management.
We emphasise that your paper, or the session you lead, does not need to be scholarly, and all staff, trustees and volunteers of independent libraries are welcome to deliver sessions.
We would love to welcome you and help to share your stories about the wonderful world of Independent Libraries!
We shall open up bookings for attendance at this hybrid event at a later date.
We look forward to hearing from you.
by Harriet-Jade | Jun 27, 2022 | Blog, Culture, Events, News, World
Morrab Library’s inaugural poetry competition is sponsored by The Dennis Myner Trust which continues the legacy of member and invaluable contributor to the library’s longevity – Dennis Myner.
Who was Dennis Myner?
Dennis Myner was born in London in 1927. During WWII, his family moved to St. Albans where he later qualified as an architect. He moved to Penzance for his mother’s health in the late 1950s and in the early 1960s built his own house in St. Ives, where he set up his architectural practice.
Dennis frequented the Morrab Library’s Photo Archive during his retirement where he would purchase photographs to recreate in paint. This fervent hobby was encouraged by his sister, Patricia Eschen, who bought him his first set of oils and brushes when he retired, saying that he would need something to keep him busy! He set himself the goal of painting 300 pictures and had reached an impressive total of 753 just a few months before he died.
Dennis dedicated the latter part of his life to supporting Morrab Library and it became his life’s ambition to help ensure its future was secure. An incredibly determined man, he devoted fifteen years to obtaining planning permission for a much-needed extension to the Library which was completed in 2013.
When Dennis passed away in 2012 he left hundreds of his paintings to the library, a selection of which are on display in the Photo Archive. Our lovely volunteer, David Sleeman wrote a fascinating blog about the history of one of the scenes that Dennis depicted which you can read here.
Our new poetry competition at the Library, the Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry, acknowledges the generous support of Dennis’ beloved older sister and only sibling – Patricia Eschen. Patricia was outgoing and well-travelled and despite living in California for most of her adult life, she would return to Cornwall to visit Dennis regularly.
She loved the Arts and attended the opera, ballet and museums around the world wherever she travelled. The Library’s Art Room is named in her honour, and the prize will continue her patronage of the arts.
Patricia was instrumental in Dennis taking up oil painting. Many of the photographs from her travels were used as subject matter for his artwork, as well as photographs he purchased from the Morrab Library Photo Archive. Without her encouragement of his painting, Dennis would not have visited the library and hence there would be no Dennis Myner Trust today.
How do The Myner Trust help the Library today?
The Dennis Myner Trust helps to support the library through donations which are used to fund projects such as the bespoke conservation-grade photographic storage cabinets, computers, and professional scanning equipment in the Photo Archive, which has proved invaluable in our ongoing digitisation programme.
We are delighted to be able to launch the international poetry competition – ‘Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry’ – from our very special library here in Penzance.
Our Library members have always shown a fervour for poetry – our earliest archive records reveal that poetry has been purchased for the library since our establishment in 1818. We have a thriving poetry group and a dedicated Poetry Room in the library. We are looking forward to shining a spotlight on poetry through our new competition this summer at the Morrab and we would not be able to do so without the support of the Dennis Myner Trust.
by Lisa Di Tommaso | Nov 14, 2019 | Blog, Events, News, Photographic Archive
Don’t forget our Christmas Craft Fair will be held this Saturday from 10.30 am to 2.00 pm. We will be jam-packed with stalls showcasing a variety of beautiful crafts including ceramics, knits, cards, art, woodwork, books and more. Images from our Photo Archives will also be on sale. First prize in our raffle is a wonderful Christmas cake and we’ll have a Tombola too. And of course, our delicious refreshments will be available to enjoy. We really hope to see you there.
by admin | Sep 18, 2019 | Events, Morrab Library, Sale
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!
by admin | Jun 5, 2019 | Culture, Events, Morrab Library
We’re delighted that The Smugglers of Mousehole film, which used the library as one of it’s locations, is having its first screening at the Solomon Browne Hall, Mousehole on Sunday 16th June. The screening will be raising funds for Solomon Browne Hall, Penlee Lifeboat and Mousehole School. To book tickets, click on this link: https://crbo.ticketsolve.com/shows/873604040
Filming in the Library’s Reading Room.
