Morrab Gardens are a municipal garden covering to the south 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 ...

town centre, Cornwall. It is known for its Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants; and for housing the

Morrab Library The Morrab Library is an independent library based in Penzance, Cornwall in the UK. The library, situated in Morrab House within Morrab Gardens, was founded in 1818 and is financed through membership subscriptions, legacies, grants, and a re ...

in the grounds. Morrab House with its walled garden was built in 1841 for brewer Samuel Pidwell. The house is described as "...a large stucco villa in the Georgian manner with columned porch". Shortly after the Pidwell family moved to Portugal the property was purchased by

Charles Campbell Ross Charles Campbell Ross (born London 1849; died 9 July 1920, Whitechapel) was a British politician and banker based in Penzance, Cornwall. The grandson of the banker Joseph Carne through his eldest daughter Mary (who married, 9 August 1836, Dr Ar ...

, a banker and Member of Parliament for the St Ives Constituency. In September 1881, Ross advertised Morrab House for rent. There was also a cottage suitable for a coachman or gardener, stables for three horses, a conservatory with hot water apparatus, a dairy, coach-house, fruit and flower gardens, lawn and meadow land. Morrab House was auctioned on 29 August 1887 and was purchased for £2,800 by Mr King, who was Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools for the district. At that time a tenant was paying £115 rent for the house and of gardens and meadow. On 16 July 1888 the house and walled gardens were bought by the Corporation of Penzance for £3,120 and tenders for the design of the garden were advertised nationally. The winning prize was £21, with ten guineas for second place plus two other prizes. Entrants came from all over the country with ten plans exhibited and four winners chosen. Reginald Upcher, a landscape gardener of

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the Third Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to BBC Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of British A ...

, London was commissioned, to develop the grassy fields sloping down to the sea into a municipal park. Robert Veitch of Exeter came second. The original design is held in the County Record Office, Truro and the garden follows faithfully Upcher's plan. The gardens opened on 27 September 1889 with a half day holiday and a procession through the streets. In the same year the Penzance Library (now known as the

) secured a lease as tenants and moved to Morrab House from the municipal buildings. The garden is now in the ownership of Cornwall Council and features some Grade II Listed Buildings including a Victorian bandstand, fountain and Boer war memorial.

References

External links

Morrab Gardens

Morrab Library Website
{{Cornwall, state=collapsed 1889 establishments in England Gardens in Cornwall Grade II Historic Parks in England Urban public parks Penzance