To spot Morrab Library, just look in front of you for a grand, cream-coloured building with impressive columns marking the entrance. There’s a sign above the doorway that says "Morrab Library" and several tall, rectangular windows looking out onto the gardens. You can't miss the stately, almost secretive air about it - it feels like a place full of whispers and hidden treasures.
Welcome to Morrab Library, a true treasure chest in the heart of Penzance. Imagine stepping into 1841, when this building was actually a private home built for a wealthy brewer named Samuel Pidwell. The hefty columns at the entrance seem to say, “Shhh-only the curious may enter!”
Now, this isn’t just any old library. It’s one of the oldest subscription libraries in England - you need to be a member, or as I like to think, part of the adventurer’s club of books. Inside are more than 60,000 books, and enough archives to keep any historian up all night - and not because of the coffee! The oldest books here were printed when pirates were still sailing these coasts. It all started as a meeting point for two book clubs: one for ladies who could borrow a story for four days, and one for gentlemen because, well, they always want a club of their own.
The place buzzed with whispers of the latest news, dramatic tales, and, I imagine, the odd scandal, too. Just think: as you look up at those big windows, maybe a Victorian librarian is peering back at you, stern and silent.
If you could wander inside, you’d find not just books but hand-written journals, rare prints, and even a roomful of Napoleonic engravings. There are stories here about presidents, wild collections, strange artifacts-and even about houses that once traveled half the world before settling here. One mystery remains: what happened to all those members’ overdue books from the 1800s? Perhaps they're still out there somewhere, waiting to be found.
So take a moment, imagine the hushed excitement of discovery, and give a friendly nod to Morrab Library: Penzance’s own palace of words!
