My name is Samuel Hill, and I’m a History PhD student from the University of Exeter. As a requirement of my PhD being funded by the ESRC SWDTP (Economic and Social Research Centre Southwest Doctoral Training Program), I have the requirement of undertaking a three months’ work placement within any institution of my choice – with my choice being Morrab Library!
My main historical interests are the social history of the southwest, with my thesis exploring the lives of maritime communities in Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly between 1750 and 1899. My thesis is exploring the various acts of resistance like smuggling, wrecking, and food rioting during times of social and economic hardship.
The reason I chose the Morrab Library for my work placement was simple. Throughout my studies, I have made numerous trips to Penzance to use the library’s broad collection of historical documents and books. Like many who use the library, I have a great fondness for the library’s incredible building, gardens, and the amazing staff who have always made me feel very welcome and supported!
My role within the library will see me work within the Morrab’s Photo Archive. The archive possesses over 17,000 photos from the local area and beyond, and it beautifully details a wide range of subjects including agriculture, community life, hobbies, leisure, working lives, schools and youth groups, transport, and even a good section on cats!
Fortunately for me, the Photo Archive possesses a broad range of photographs that beautifully illustrate the lives of maritime communities within the region. My role will be to continue to update the tags and descriptions of the collection, with my particular focus being on the fascinating range of shipwreck photos. During my time here, I will be writing blogs, an article, and deliver a talk that uses the photographic evidence to illustrate the lived experiences of these unique communities.
I hope that these blogs are of particular interest to visitors of the library and that the photos you see within the blogs inspire you to have a look at the collection! You can view them here via this link: https://morrablibrary.org.uk/photo-archive/
The Photo Archives team are available to visit in the library on Thursday mornings between 10.00am and 1.00pm, so drop in to say hello and find out more about the collections.
HRH Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester’s visit to The Morrab Library
On Wednesday 13th May 2026, the Morrab Library welcomed HRH Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho.
We showed him around our beautiful building and displayed some of the treasures from our rare book, archive, historic newspaper and photographic collections. Afterwards, he enjoyed lunch with a number of Trustees, benefactors, and volunteers.
Following are some images from the Prince’s visit. It was a treat to share our special library with the Duke, and introduce him to our staff, and our brilliant volunteers and members.
Click to enlarge the images below and read their captions.
The Duke is introduced to Harry Spry-Leverton, Honorary Librarian.
Library Chairman, Stephen Oliver, welcomes Prince Richard.
The Duke, accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Sir Edward Bolitho.
Librarian, Lisa Di Tommaso, in conversation with the Duke, accompanied by Library President Michael Grandage, the Chairman, Honorary Librarian and Lord Lieutenant.
The Duke meets staff member Alison Todd, in the library's reception.
The Librarian and Honorary Librarian present a display of some of the Library's rare and important collections in the Jenner Room.
Items from the Dawson Napoleonic collections as well as news items about the Duke's family from the Illustrated London News and Cornishman newspaper, were displayed.
The Librarian and Honorary Librarian present a display of some of the Library's rare and important collections in the Jenner Room, accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant.
The Librarian and Honorary Librarian present a display of some of the Library's rare and important collections in the Jenner Room.
We are excited to say that The Sunday Times has named The Morrab Library as one of the UK’s most enchanting libraries! We are in some illustrious company too.
Of course, it’s no secret to those who already know about our beloved library, but now many more people know too!
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.
Who was Patricia Eschen?
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.
We thought you’d like to know about a rather significant milestone in the history of Morrab Library. Friday the 14th May saw us catalogue our first library book into KOHA, our new online library system.
Member, volunteer and former Chair Peter Chapman had the honour of barcoding the first of our many thousands of books, and adding the record to our catalogue – it was Annabelle Abbs’ Frieda, by the way!
This is a small but important step in our aim to improve access to our collections. By making our books searchable online, you will all be able to truly discover the extent, and the magic, of our collections, even the ones on the high shelves!
You’ll have to be patient though – we have a lot of books, so it will be quite a number of years before we have completed the retrospective project, but we do feel it’s worth the effort involved! There won’t be any changes to the way you search for or borrow books just now, but we will provide regular updates on progress.
The project is currently in its pilot phase (starting with the fiction collection), with Peter and our Honorary Librarian, Harry Spry-Leverton, testing things for us, but soon we will be looking to recruit some more volunteers to help with the cataloguing, so we’ll put the call out when we’re ready.
A big thank you to Sue Garwood, our Assistant Librarian, who used the lockdown periods very productively coming to terms with KOHA, and to Dr Vivian Cothey, member and cataloguing expert, for his brilliant advice and guidance.
Morrab Library will be opening again on the 14th April, although still in a very limited capacity. The necessity to keep staff, volunteers and members as safe as possible remains our first priority, and we will need to continue to work within the context of health and safety legislation and best practice guidelines for libraries to achieve this.
It needs to be said that while the staff will do all it can to make the library as safe as possible, we cannot of course guarantee it 100%, so each member will need to make their own decision about whether they feel they can visit.
Opening hours and access
The library will open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10.00 am to 3.30pm.
The library will be open for book loans and returns, and for readers who wish to book a workspace on the first floor or access the newspaper collection.
Entry will be by appointment only. We need to be very strict about how many people can safely be in the library and share spaces at the one time. You can email us at : enquiries@morrablibrary.org.uk or telephone 01736 364474 and leave a message with your name and contact entails – staff will contact you to arrange an appointment.
Please don’t try to visit unless you have received confirmation of your appointment time. We do not want you to have to queue outside for any lengthy period.
Please book for an appointment as far in advance as you can to avoid disappointment.
You do not need to make an appointment if you are only returning or collecting books and do not wish to enter the building beyond the entrance foyer.
When you come to borrow books we will be able to welcome you for a visit of 30 minutes. If you are isolating as a household, a couple or family can come in together.
Only library members (or members of their household) will be able to access the building – we will sadly not be able to welcome any visitors at this stage, unless they are expressly wishing to join as a new member.
We cannot accept any book donations at this time.
The Photo Archive will not be open to visitors on Thursday mornings at this time, but please email photoarchive@morrablibrary.org.uk, or call the library and we can pass on any enquiries.
While you are with us
It will not be possible to remain in the library beyond choosing or returning books, or working in your reserved room.
Hand sanitiser will be on offer at the front door, and we will ask that you make use of it BEFORE entering the building. There are additional hand sanitising stations throughout the building.
It is a legal requirement that you wear a face covering whilst moving around the building, unless you have a legitimate reason for not being able to do so.
Social distancing practices will be in place (working to the 2 metre rule) and staff will be working behind a temporary screen.
Loans and Returns
If you are returning library books, please bring them in a bag (preferably one you don’t want back), and include a note with your name on it. There will be special boxes in the foyer where you can leave them – in keeping with health and safety guidelines, they will need to be quarantined for 72 hours before staff can process them.
The lifting on restrictions on the number of loans will remain, meaning you can borrow more than six books at a time. If you don’t feel comfortable coming to the library yourself, you can nominate a fellow member, friend or family to borrow and collect books on your behalf.
We will be offering a collection service. If you send us a list of titles you are seeking, we can check our holdings and the shelves, and if they are available, we can bag them up and leave them for you or a friend or family member to collect from the foyer, so you won’t have to come into the rest of the building.
The magazines and newspapers normally located in the Reading Room will be moved to the tables in the Jenner Room, and be available for loan.
Amenities
The ground floor toilet will be available, but we ask that it be accessed only if completely necessary. Please leave the space as clean as possible after use. A hand sanitising station will be located just outside.
Sadly, the kitchen will be closed to members, and not accessible.
Lockers will not be in use. Bags must remain with you. They cannot be left at the desk or elsewhere.
The till will be in operation for book and other sales, donations and new memberships and renewals. Payment by card is our preferred option, although we will accept cheques and cash. Appropriate hygiene measures will be in place for using the till.
The photocopier will only be available for the use of library staff, but we will happily copy anything you need on your behalf.
The lift will be in operation and hand sanitising stations will be available in the foyers on each floor.
Parking at the library should generally be possible during this time, although if you would like to be guaranteed a parking spot, please let us know when you make your appointment.
Cleaning
Library staff will carry out regular cleaning of ‘hotspots’ around the building throughout the day, such as door handles, stair bannisters and the toilet.
We will also undertake a deep clean of the library after hours each day.
Desks, chairs and other items will be cleaned in between room appointments.
Please contact the Library (enquiries@morrablibrary.org.uk), or leave a message on 01736 364474 and we’ll call you back, if you have any questions or concerns.
We would also like to offer my assistance to any of you who will need to continue to self-isolate and won’t be able to visit, or do not have anyone who can borrow books on your behalf. Please get in touch so we can find a way to help you if we can.
I know this remains a less than ideal situation, but hopefully it won’t be too much longer before we can return to the normality of the Morrab Library we all love so much. Thank you so much for your wonderful support throughout lockdown, and as we move forward into the new year.
Photo: Ian Kingsnorth
