Penlee Park

Penlee Park can be found within five minutes walk of Wymering Bed and Breakfast. Dating from 1865, the park covers 15 acres and hosts Penlee House Gallery and Museum, tennis courts, a football field, a children's play area, a woodland walk, a garden of remembrance and a small open air theatre.

Penlee House and Park were commissioned by John Richards Branwell, the brother and business partner of Wymering's former owner, as a private estate and believed to have been designed by the local architect John Matthews in the highly fashionable Italianate style. In 1918 Penlee was bestowed to Edith and then Alfred Branwell, who with the help of a gardener trained at Kew, set about transforming the park with numerous rare plants, flowers and trees which can still be enjoyed today. The house and park served as a family estate to the Branwells for many decades and were purchased by Penzance Borough Council in 1946 to serve as a War Memorial after their use as a Civil Defence Centre in the Second World War. Penlee House was opened to the the public as a gallery and museum and the Park and Gardens were open to the public for recreation.

Today, Penlee House Gallery and Museum are home to the Town's historic collections including important "Newlyn School" and "Lamorna Group" paintings and also has temporary exhibitions. It boasts a collection of several thousand local photographs, some dating back as early as the 1870s. The museum has archaeological and local history sections. It also has a shop and cafe which are open during museum hours. Please click here to visit the Penlee House Gallery and Museum website.

Outside Penlee house stands a historic granite cross which dates from the late 10th or early 11th century. The stone cross once stood in the Greenmarket and was the Market Cross. In its long history it has been moved to many locations in Penzance including Morrab Gardens. The cross has a weather worn inscription and decoration. A plaque at the base of the cross reads 'THIS CROSS STOOD IN THE GREEN MARKET UNTIL 1867 AFTERWARDS AT THE WESTERN END OF THE MARKET HOUSE, AND WAS REMOVED TO THIS SITE JULY 15TH 1899, BY THE PENZANCE NATURAL HISTORY & ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY'

When Penlee was purchased for use as a memorial park the walled kitchen and flower garden was converted into a garden of remembrance, which has recently been replanted with various subtropical plants and flowers. The Branwell family's tennis court was also changed into a small open air theatre, seating about two hundred people, which is managed by Acorn Theatre and holds a season of plays from July to September.

Penlee Park has seven tennis courts which are available for public hire and is home to the Penzance Tennis Club, founded in 1947. Please click here to visit the Penzance Tennis Club website. It has also had a football ground since 1952. Please click here to find out more.