The Egyptian House is a
grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in the
Cornish town of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
. It is built in the style of
Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat ...
and has been in the ownership of the
Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...
since the 1970s. The current building dates from 1835 to 1836.
History
The building is at 6–7 Chapel Street, Penzance. An older building on the site was owned by Richard Hitchens of
Madron
Madron ( kw, Eglos Madern) is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, Great Britain. Madron is named after Saint Madern's Church. Its annual Trafalgar Service commemorating the death of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was started on 27 Octo ...
and later, John Fleming, (described as
Perukemaker). The site or building was put up for auction on 3 April 1835 by James Tregarthen, a
master mariner
A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location of ...
of
St Mary's, Isles of Scilly
St Mary's ( kw, Ennor, meaning ''The Mainland'') is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England.
Description
St Mary's has an area of — 40 percent of the total la ...
and was purchased by John Lavin, a
mineralogist
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
of Penzance.
[Laws, Peter. ''A Review of the Architecture of Penzance''. In: Pool, Peter A S (1974). ''The History of the Town and Borough of Penzance.'' Penzance: Corporation of Penzance.]
There is some dispute over the architect and the date of build.
George Clement Boase
George Clement Boase (20 October 1829, in Penzance – 1 October 1897, in Lewisham) was an English bibliographer and antiquary.
Biography
Boase's father was a banker, and Boase himself took up banking in Cornwall and London as a young man from 1 ...
(1890) writes that the Egyptian Hall was built by John Lavin, and a deed of 1850 states that he occupied 6–7 Chapel Street and ″... some time since erected and built by him.″ In ''Reminiscences of Penzance'' (1883) the house was built in about 1839, ″.... which was built in imitation of the
Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...
, Piccadilly, London ....
Laws (1974) writes that
John Foulston
John Foulston (1772 – 30 December 1841) was an English architect who was a pupil of Thomas Hardwick and set up a practice in London in 1796.Peter Leach, ''Foulston, John (1772–1841)'', rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Un ...
of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
may be the architect. Foulston designed the Classical and Mathematical School, Ker Street,
Devonport in 1823 which the Penzance building closely resembles. There is an assertion that the Chapel Street building is an exact copy of
Peter Robinson's 1811–12 museum in
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
, London, which is not correct.
[ Although an 1883 account (see above) states that it was an ″imitation″.] Robinson rebuilt Trelissick the seat of Thomas Daniell in 1824–25.[
In his ''Guide to Penzance'', published in 1845, J S Courtney describes the building as ".... the astonishing gaudy and eccentric Egyptian House recently built by John Lavin, mineralogist and Egyptologist". Mineral collectors visited the building to see and purchase from Mr Lavin's collection. His son, Edwin Lavin, in about 1865, sold the collection for £3000 to Baroness Burdett Coutts who donated it to the University Museum, ]Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. In 1878 and 1879, the property is described as ″The Library″ in weekly advertisements in ''The Cornishman
''The Cornishman'' is a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which was first published on 18 July 1878. Circulation for the first two editions was 4,000. An edition is currently printed every Thursday. In early Fe ...
'' newspaper, and states that Mrs Daves stocks ″a large and complete stock of berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and other wools, stationery, useful and ornamental articles″. Mrs Daves moved her business to nearby Queen Square in March 1882.
The building was later neglected and was repainted "brightly but inexpertly" by Norman Shipton in 1960. In 1973, it was acquired by the Landmark Trust
The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...
and scaffolding
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
, which had been erected for several years, was removed to reveal a refurbished building and a new exterior colour scheme of brown and creams. The architect Paul Pearn of Plymouth concluded that these were the original colours after stripping layers of paint from the elaborate mouldings which were mainly of coade stone. The building continues to be managed by the Landmark Trust, with two shops on the ground floor and holiday accommodation on the upper floors.
References
External links
{{Commons category-inline
Houses completed in 1836
Grade I listed buildings in Cornwall
Grade I listed houses
Houses in Cornwall
Landmark Trust
Buildings and structures in Penzance
Egyptian Revival architecture in the United Kingdom