Penlee House

FREE Public Guided Tours
2026-03-24 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-26 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-31 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-02 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-07 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-09 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-14 11:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-16 11:00 - 11:30 UTC and 3 more dates
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.

Friends of Penlee House Repeat Guided Tour of the Sheila Hichens Collection of Newlyn School Art
2026-03-24 14:00 - 15:30 | St Michael’s Mount, Marazion
Discover the remarkable Sheila Hichens Collection at The Steward’s House on St Michael’s St. Michael’s Mount with Cath Wallace- Art Historian.This exceptional collection features more than 40 works by celebrated Newlyn School artists, including Walter Langley, Stanhope Forbes, Laura Knight, and Harold Harvey. Together, these powerful paintings capture everyday life in West Cornwall before the mid-20th century.Hosted by the Friends of Penlee House, this exclusive guided tour offers a rare opportunity to experience a culturally significant collection in a truly unique setting. Tickets:£20 for Friends of Penlee House£25 for General Admission Tuesday 24 March Meeting point: Stewards House, St Michael’s Mount Time: 2 pmPlease note: Entry to the Castle or Gardens is not included and must be booked separately. Limited mobility transport to the Mount may be available — contact Judith Summers at judithmarybosavern@gmail.comfor details.Spaces are limited — early booking is recommended!

Arty Afternoons: Fuzzy Felt faces
2026-03-28 14:30 - 15:30
There are all sorts of faces in the current exhibition. Create a fuzzy felt face shaped board and add in different eyes, ears, noses and other facial features!

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

Baby Sensory
2026-03-30 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-13 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-04-27 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-05-11 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.

Arty Afternoons: Newlyn fishing boats photo collage
2026-04-04 14:30 - 15:30
Taking inspiration from the brilliant photography we have on display, explore the photos we have of Newlyn fishing boats and the harbour. Cut up the photos and create a collage of Newlyn fishing scene using the photos and old magazines.

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

Easter holidays – Arty Afternoons: Photograph of a special moment
2026-04-09 13:30 - 15:30 | Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance
Come and join us and handle some old cameras – what do they look like? How did they work? Sketch the camera if you like. Before digital photography, it was trickier and more expensive to take a photo, so you waited for a special moment. What special moment would you take in a photo? Draw a picture of that moment as an old photograph.

Arty Afternoons: Peg dolls
2026-04-11 14:30 - 15:30
Discover the different people and outfits in the paintings and photos on display at Penlee House. Dress a peg doll by making your own outfits from fabric scraps and felt.

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

Little Penlee Explorers: Drop-in sessions for under 5s
2026-04-13 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-05-11 10:00 - 12:00
Join us to explore, play and create at Penlee House! With activities throughout the galleries, these free, drop-in sessions are for under-5s and their grown-ups.
Monthly on Mondays, 10 am-12 pm.

Easter Holidays - Arty Afternoons: Self-portrait with a fancy frame
2026-04-16 13:30 - 15:30 | Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance
Come and see the portraits in the current exhibitions and find out how to draw a face. Draw a self-portrait and make a fancy, golden frame. Maybe even dress up as a Newlyn School character and take a photo of yourself in your golden frame

Arty Afternoons: Jigsaw of a portrait
2026-04-18 14:30 - 15:30
Choose a portrait painting or photograph from our exhibition and turn it into a jigsaw. You can draw your own jigsaw too, maybe a self portrait design or a portrait of your favourite pet!

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

Talk: Capturing the Community – Then and Now
2026-04-21 19:30 - 21:00 | Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
Penlee House’s exhibition Harry Penhaul: Life through a Lens took us back to post-war Penwith. How did he choose his subjects? What makes his work so good? And how does this contrast with the work of photojournalists today? Greg Martin, himself a photojournalist, will talk about Penhaul’s way of working and how photojournalists go about telling stories today.
About Greg Martin: I worked predominantly as a photographer for over 20 years in Cornwall – originally as a surf photographer and magazine photo editor, and then for 10 years as a press photojournalist. In the end, I was the only full-time staff photojournalist in Cornwall. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to photograph presidents, prime ministers, princes, and, more importantly, the people of Cornwall.
This engaging talk offers a rare chance to look beyond the images: to understand not just what we see, but how and why those moments were captured — and what it really means to tell a story with a camera.
📅 Date: 21 April 2026
🕝 Time: 7.30 pm
📍 Venue: The Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
🎟️ Tickets: £7 Friends | £15 General admission
👉 Book now to secure your place!

Arty Afternoons: Sew a fish!
2026-05-02 14:30 - 15:30
Look closely at the beautiful painting ‘The Zandvoort Fishergirl’ by Elizabeth Forbes on display in our new exhibition at Penlee House – what is she holding? Join us to have a go at embroidery by sewing and decorating a felt fish, just like the ones on the plate in the image.

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

Arty Afternoons: Layered Landscape Collage
2026-05-09 14:30 - 15:30
Explore the landscapes in our new exhibition, such as Hilda Bernstein’s ‘Forest’ etching or Laura Knight’s ‘Windermere’ oil painting. Look closely at how the landscapes look layered and recreate this by collaging different types of paper.

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

Arty Afternoons: Everyday life – Observation Drawing
2026-05-16 14:30 - 15:30
Investigate the artworks in our exhibition that include everyday objects. Learn how to compose and draw a still life and create your own everyday life artwork.
FREE family activities take place every Saturday; drop in anytime between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.

Talk: Before Cryséde: Newlyn and the women who helped create an international silk company
2026-05-19 19:30 - 21:00 | Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
It has always seemed surprising to me that Cryséde Silks, which, in 1918, should have originated in Newlyn – a village, predominantly known for its fishing industry, and situated far away from any major fashionable town or city. The company produced unique hand-designed and hand-made silk dresses, which would be sold all over the world.
Janet Axten has been researching the people and events that led up to the formation of Cryséde. She has looked at the expansion of the town due to the creation of the new piers in the 1880s, and the opening of the Industrial Class; the newly established Arts and Crafts movement of the 1890s, producing, among other things, fine copper and enamel ware. She has also identified the accomplishments of the painter Elizabeth Forbes, who, at the turn of the twentieth century, encouraged a generation of fashionable and talented young women to attend the Forbes School of Painting. These included Katherine Earle (who would co-create Cryséde Silks)
Social history usually ignores the contribution that women have made to a local economy. ‘Before Cryséde’ aims to give these women a voice by identifying who they were and what they did.
Date: 19 May 2026
Time: 7.30 pm
Venue: The Queen’s Hotel, Penzance
Tickets: £7 Friends | £15 General admission
Book now to secure your place!

Arty afternoons: Rag rugs / Weaving
2026-05-23 14:30 - 15:30
Can you find the textile pieces on display in the Making Her Mark exhibition? What different techniques can you see? Join us to create either a rag rug or a woven piece that you can display in your home.

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