Penzance
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Template:GBmap Image:Penzance dock.jpg Image:Penzancearms.PNG Penzance is a port in Cornwall, UK, facing southeast onto the English Channel. Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and Incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 21,168 people and is currently Penwith's principal town. It is twinned with Concarneau, Brittany; Bendigo, Australia; and Nevada City, California.
Situated in the shelter of the Mount's Bay, Penzance is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn and stretches towards the small town of Marazion to the east. The town's location gives it a unique subtropical climate, warmer than most of the rest of Britain.
More than a millennium ago, a chapel, St. Anthony's, stood on the headland to the west of what became Penzance harbour and it is from this that Penzance derived its name: the Cornish pen sans means "holy headland". Until the 1930s this history was also reflected in the choice of symbol for the town, the severed 'holy head' of St. John the Baptist. It can still be seen on the civic regalia of the Mayor of Penzance and on several important landmarks in the town.
Penzance is the home of the two main links to the Isles of Scilly, a foot-passenger ferry service via The Scillonian III and a passenger helicopter service. Famous natives include the scientist Sir Humphry Davy and England cricketer Jack Richards. It is also claimed to be the place where the death of Admiral Lord Nelson was first announced, following the interception of the returning HMS Pickle by local fishermen.
Until the 1930s the Borough of Penzance referred only to the town, but since then it has been extended to include the nearby settlements of Newlyn, Mousehole, Gulval and Heamoor. In 1974 the Borough was abolished and replaced, first by the Penzance Charter Trustees and then from 1980 by Penzance Town Council.
Places of interest in Penzance include:
- Penlee House, an art gallery and museum notable for its collection of paintings by members of the Newlyn School.
- The sub-tropical Morrab Gardens, notable for their range of tender trees and shrubs, many of which cannot be grown outdoors anywhere else in the UK.
- Regency and Georgian terraces and houses.
- Chapel Street, Penzance's former main street, featuring the Egyptian House, The Union Hotel (the site of a Georgian theatre), The Turks Head Inn, The Admiral Benbow pub and The Branwell House, where the mother and aunt of the famous Brontë sisters once lived. Chapel Street is reputed to be the second most haunted street in Great Britain.
Also of interest is the seafront with its promenade and the open-air, seawater Jubilee Bathing Pool (one of the oldest surviving Art Deco swimming baths in the country), harking back to Penzance's heyday at the turn of the century as a fashionable seaside resort.
Every June since 1991, the Golowan Festival (which includes Mazey Day) has been held in the town.
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Cultural references
Penzance is the home of the pirates in Gilbert and Sullivan's play The Pirates of Penzance. At the time the play was written, 1879, Penzance had long been a peaceful town, so the very idea of it being overrun by pirates was amusing.
History
Although the first historical mention of Penzance, as a place for landing fish, was in the 14th century the town was overshadowed by its near-neighbour Marazion until fairly recently (Marazion was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1088 and is the oldest chartered town in Britain having been granted this status by King Henry III in 1257.)
The reason for Penzance's relative success probably stems from late 16th and early 17th Centuries when Queen Elizabeth I granted the town a Royal Market and King James I granted it the status of a borough. By 1801 the town had a population of 3,382, more than 3 times the size of Marazion. Its success was sealed by the decision by the Great Western Railway Company to build its western terminus close to the harbour.
Being at the far west of England, Penzance and the surrounding villages have been sacked many times by foreign fleets. Several years after the Spanish Armada of 1588 later, in 1595, a Spanish force under Don Carlos de Amesquita, which had been patrolling the channel, landed troops in Cornwall, western England. Amesquita's force seized supplies, raided and burned Penzance and surrounding villages, held a mass, and sailed away before it could be confronted.
Sir Humphry Davy
Penzance was the birth place of the famous chemist Sir Humphry Davy. Davy was President of the Royal Society and invented the process of electrolysis as well as proving (with Michael Faraday) that diamonds are made of pure carbon. Today he is possibly best known as the inventor of the Miner's Safety Lamp, or Davy lamp. There is a statue of Davy at the top of Market Jew Street, near the house where he was born. One of Penzance's secondary schools is also named after the scientist.
Mining
Following Sir Humphry Davy’s contribution, to the mining industry The Miners' Association began mining classes in Penzance. As mining in the area became more complex the Penzance Mining and Science School was founded in 1890. The school continued to teach mining until 1910 when it was amalgamated with Camborne and Redruth mining School forming the School Of Metallipherous Mining in Camborne, which is now known as the Camborne School of Mines. This institution has now moved to the Combined Universities in Cornwall campus at Tremough, Falmouth.
Sport
Penzance was, until recently, the home of Cornwall's most successful Rugby team, the Penzance Pirates (Penzance and Newlyn RFC). The National Division 1 side relocated to Truro in 2005 in a bid to reach the Premiership and was renamed as the Cornish Pirates.
Former England and Surrey cricketer, Jack Richards (born Clifton James Richards) was born in Penzance. Although he only played 8 test matches, Richards was the wicket keeper during England's Ashes win in 1986.
See also
External links
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