Penlee House

FREE Public Guided Tours
2024-03-05 14:00 UTC
Our team of Volunteer Tour Guides will be offering insights into the current exhibition through a program of short guided tours.
Tours will be offered at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tours are included in the admission price to the Gallery and last between 30 and 45 minutes. No booking is required, but places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Arty Afternoons: Landscape Collage
2024-03-09 14:30 - 15:30
Taking inspiration from David Haughton’s painting of Zennor in Gallery 4, create landscape collages using simple cubist-style shapes and blocks of colour.

FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm

Arty Afternoons: Vehicles of Old
2024-03-16 14:30 - 15:30
Look carefully at the different vehicles in the photographs in the hallway between galleries 1 and 2. How many different types of vehicles can you spot? How do they look different to the cars and vehicles that we have today? Using the pre-cut shapes build your own vehicle.

FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Penlee Baby Sensory
2024-03-18 10:00 - 11:30
Free, drop-in session for babies from birth to crawlers. Come and experience the amazing artworks whilst exploring sensory play together in the Gallery.

Baby Sensory Session
2024-03-18 10:00 - 11:30

Event: Valuation Evening with Barbara Kirk at the Queen's Hotel, Penzance
2024-03-20 18:30 - 19:30
Barbara Kirk is a valuer, auctioneer and sole proprietor with over 35 years of experience in the antiques business. Began by gaining eight years of experience as a dealer, standing at antique fairs & with a shop in Penzance. Barbara followed this with sixteen years as a valuer & auctioneer for another Penzance auction house. Now in her twelfth year of successfully running her own independent auction business.
£5 entry for Friends / £10 for guests. Additional charge £5 for a valuation.
If you are bringing an item, please arrive at 6.30pm.
Purchase tickets now via EventBrite

Relaxed Opening for March
2024-03-23 09:00 - 11:00
Join us for a relaxed opening at Penlee House. This event is designed for visitors with sensory needs or those needing a quieter, more relaxed visit, plus their families, friends and carers.
Our friendly team will be around to talk to if you would like to, with objects to handle and a simple making activity. Light and sound levels will be adjusted to provide a more comfortable environment and there will be a quiet space available.
Penlee House will open early at 9am, with exclusive use until 10am, when the Gallery will open to the general public. Sounds will be turned back on at 11am.
For more accessibility information, you can view our Accessibility page which contains our access guides.
If you have any questions, please contact Zoe.

Arty Afternoons: Cork Boats in a 3D Scene
2024-03-23 14:30 - 15:30
How many different types of boats can you see in the paintings in the exhibitions? Design and make a mini cork boat and display it in a 3D sea scene.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Arty Afternoons: Seasonal Views
2024-03-30 14:30 - 15:30
Take the four fancy frames on a walk around the gallery and pick your four favourite paintings. Sketch the scene in the frame and then return to base to make the scene your own. Think about changing the colours to turn it from a sunny seascape or landscape to a moody stormy scene or a winter view rather than one full of spring colour.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Easter Holidays: Sew a Picture
2024-04-04 13:30 - 15:30
Explore how artist Matina Thomas uses colourful marks to make her paintings and then see if you can create your own artwork using a needle and wool rather than a paintbrush.

Arty Afternoon: Animals from Paintings
2024-04-06 14:30 - 15:30
Look closely at the animals you can see in the paintings. There are lots of different types from dogs to donkeys to seagulls. Sketch you favourite one and bring it alive as a 3D Air dough sculpture
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Easter Holidays: Fabric bags
2024-04-11 13:30 - 15:30
Be inspired by all the wonderful pictures of West Cornwall in the current exhibitions to come up with your own design to transfer onto a fabric bag using fabric crayons.

Arty Afternoon: Mini Bunting
2024-04-13 14:30 - 15:30
Using the painting The Wester Union Fleet by Charles W Simpson as inspiration to design and make a string of mini bunting.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

John le Carré Social History Exhibition
2024-04-17 - 2024-05-06
This exhibition is being mounted in conjunction with the inaugural John le Carré Memorial Lecture which will be presented on 2 May 2024 by The Morrab Library at the Acorn Theatre, Penzance.

David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 1931 – 12 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré, was a British Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, and is considered one of the greatest novelists of the postwar era. During the 1950s and 1960s, he worked for both the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
Most of le Carré’s books are spy stories set during the Cold War (1945–91) and portray British Intelligence agents as unheroic political functionaries, aware of the moral ambiguity of their work and engaged more in psychological than physical drama. Le Carré’s third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), became an international best-seller and remains one of his best-known works. Following its publication, he left MI6 to become a full-time writer.
His novels include The Looking Glass War (1965), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), Smiley’s People (1979), The Little Drummer Girl (1983), The Night Manager (1993), The Tailor of Panama (1996), The Constant Gardener (2001), A Most Wanted Man (2008) and Our Kind of Traitor (2010).
Le Carré, who lived in St Buryan until his death in 2020, at age 89, was a passionate supporter of the Morrab Library from the 1970s, later serving as president (1997-2002), then for many years as a patron. He had a special interest in encouraging young people to read and be inspired by the place. He was also a Vice-President of the Friends of Penlee House from 1997 to 2020.
The lecture, which is sponsored by The Arts Society West Cornwall, is planned to be a biennial event. This year’s speaker is Mick Herron, celebrated author of the Slow Horses / Slough House espionage novels.
Penlee House Gallery & Museum and The Morrab Library would like to thank the Cornwell family for the loan of these items, and to Vicki Phillips – who worked for John le Carré for nearly 20 years – for her help in assembling this collection.

Lecture: An Evening of Archaeology
2024-04-17 19:30 - 20:30
Dick Cole, the Sites Officer for the Cornwall Heritage Trust, will give a talk about the significance of the archaeological sites, which the Trust owns and looks after in West Cornwall, along with information about ongoing maintenance and volunteer engagement with the historic landscape of West Penwith. The sites include Caer Bran, Carn Euny, Sancreed Beacon and Tregonning Hill, near Helston. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear about the rich and diverse archaeological sites cared for by the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
Lectures take place at 7.30 p.m. at Penlee House (unless otherwise stated). Booking is essential.
Purchase tickets now via EventBrite

Arty Afternoons: Zoom in and Mark Make
2024-04-20 14:30 - 15:30
View Martina Thomas’ paintings through a viewfinder and choose the patterns and mark making you like to best. Fill up shapes with different techniques and colours using a variety of drawing equipment.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm

Arty Afternoons: Fishy Mobile
2024-04-27 14:30 - 15:30
Explore all things fishy in the gallery. From paintings with shiny scaled fish being packed on the harbourside to objects in our social history gallery. Using acetate and sticky backed plastic, create shimmering fish and string them together as a mobile.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.
