A timeline of some of the key events – and miscellany – in the history of the area occupied by the Morrab Gardens. We would welcome amendments, corrections and additions to this timeline – please contact us with your suggestions!
Timeline chapters
Prior to the nineteenth century, open land to the west of Penzance was known as The Morrep, from the Cornish words mor (n) = sea and reb (adj) = beside / near to / next to
Beginnings – a wealthy man’s estate
Purchase by Penzance Corporation – transformation to public park
20th Century – the Gardens develop
21st Century – the Gardens continue evolving
Beginnings timeline – a wealthy man’s estate
1841
Morrab House built
Samuel Pidwell, a wealthy brewer, builds Morrab House on open ground running down to the seashore to the west of Penzance.The Pidwell family did not live here for long. The family moved to Portugal where an identical house was built, using the same plans as for the one in Penzance.
1844: Pigot’s Directory of Cornwall has the following entry listed under Gentry and Clergy: “Pidwell Saml. jun. Esq. Morrab fields”
1856 – 1865?
Educational establishments
The House is now an educational establishment.
1856: Kelly’s Post Office Directory of Cornwall has no mention of Samuel Pidwell but has an entry for “Berryman Misses, ladies’ boarding school, Morrab house“.
1864:Coulson’s Directory of Penzance has the following entry: “Morrab House. The Misses Short and Page, Seminary“.
1865/1866?
Local dignitary becomes owner
Morrab House was acquired by Charles Campbell Ross, partner in a private bank, MP for St Ives, and four times mayor of Penzance, who used it as his residence until the early 1880s.
1878: The Ordnance Survey “25-inch” map shows the stable yard was enclosed by a wall or fence which separates it from the carriage drive leading up to the entrance portico of the house.
This is also described in the current Heritage Listing for the Morrab Gardens.
1883 -1887
Further owners
1883: The house appears to once more have new occupants; Kelly’s Directory of Cornwall lists, as private residents, “Jago Misses, Morrab house” with no further detail.
1887, November 10th: From The West Briton newspaper: “It is stated that Mr. KING, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools for this district, has purchased Morrab House, Penzance, for the sum of £2,800. This prettily situated residence has for a long time been in the market, and Mr. King was one of the bidders when the house was recently offered for sale by auction.”
Purchase by Penzance Corporation timeline – transformation to public park
1888
Purchase by Penzance Corporation
The property, comprising the villa and a large walled garden, was purchased by Penzance Corporation for the sum of £3,120 for development as a public park, in response to the increasing tourism, with the villa providing accommodation for Penzance Library (a private library).
1889
Design competition
A competition for the design of the new park, with a premium of £21 was won by a London designer, Reginald Upcher. Much of the original planting was the result of gifts from local estates. Contributors to the gardens included the Bolitho family of Trengwainton, the Williams’ at Trewidden, the Dorrien-Smiths at Tresco and Canon Boscawen, rector of Ludgvan.
However, the reputation gained by Morrab Gardens for its unique range of tender trees and shrubs owes more to the subsequent head gardeners and park superintendents than the initial designer.
27th September 1889
Official opening
Official opening of the Morrab Gardens.
1891
First Head Gardener
The 1891 Census records the gardener as being a Thomas Dorothy who lived in Morrab Cottage with his wife and three children. He came originally from Devon. Mr Dorothy also served as a Special Constable, responsible for enforcing bye-laws in the gardens, and crime prevention generally, as well as upkeep of the gardens. Read more about the Penzance Park Constables in a fascinating article by Mark Rothwell.
January 1893
Funding for ‘an item or two’
Penzance Council agreed spending of £63.16s.4d (equivalent to £2054 at 2017 prices) on ‘an item or two’ for Morrab Gardens. Also agreed a proposal for a shelter to be built against north wall subject to line of roof as Morrab Terrace residents had complained that their view might be affected. (Pengarth Day Centre now occupies the site of the shelter, and some of the cast ironwork from the original shelter can be seen in the Pengarth building.)
1899
The Market Cross re-erected in the Gardens
The Market Cross which originally stood on the Greenmarket, then by the corner of Causewayhead, followed by the western front of the Market House is re-erected in Morrab Gardens. In 1949 it was moved again to the front of the Penlee House Museum and Art Gallery in Penlee Park.
20th Century timeline – the Gardens develop
February 1901
Gift of tender Norfolk Island Pine seeds
The chair (of the Pleasure Gardens Committee) receives a gift for the Pleasure Gardens from Mr EL Millett, JP, of Bosavern, a parcel of seed of the Norfolk Island Pine. This gift is significant as it recognises Morrab Gardens as a suitable place to grow tender trees unlikely to survive outside in most of Britain. The Norfolk Island tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, now an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia.
March 1901
Anti-social behaviour reported
From The Cornishman (report of Penzance Council meeting): Alderman Julyan asked if the Pleasure Gardens Committee would take steps to keep the shelter in Morrab Gardens in a cleaner condition on Sunday mornings? It was generally in a filthy state, being covered with matchboxes and paper. ……and to consider fixing pots in the garden for the deposit of refuse.
Councillor Poole said at present the gardeners took a great deal of trouble in picking up paper in the gardens. He was afraid that the matchboxes were left in the shelter by a lot of young men who assembled there every Sunday instead of going to church. He was sorry the shelter was such a nuisance.
1904
The Boer War memorial erected
The Boer War Memorial erected in Morrab Gardens to commemorate the Penzance men who gave their lives in the South African campaign 1889 to 1902.
1905
The bandstand built
The cast iron bandstand was built with money donated by local coal merchant JH Bennett.
1908
Glasshouses and other changes
The Ordnance Survey “25-inch” map shows glasshouses along the boundary wall of the garden behind Morrab House and another free-standing glasshouse nearby. The wall that enclosed the stable yard has by now been removed, and the position of the Stone Cross in front of Morrab House is marked (having been removed from The Market House, its previous resting place).
1929
A change of Head Gardener
Thomas Dorothy retired as head gardener – at the age of 75 – after nearly forty years at Morrab Gardens (The Cornishman, 02 May 1929).
William Watson appointed Head Gardener (Sue Griffin, Mr Watson’s grand-daughter, personal communication)
9th November 1931
Dog owner cautioned
The Head Gardener reported that a certain person refused to put his dog on a lead when passing through the gardens. It was resolved that the Town Clerk be instructed to caution the offender. (Minutes of Penzance Council meetings)
13th January 1932
20th Century issues require new regulations
The Head Gardener sought instruction for dealing with scooters, roller skates, hoops, skipping ropes and balls. The Town Clerk instructed to re-draft, and submit as soon as possible, Byelaws governing the Gardens and to include the matters mentioned. These would be displayed at the entrances to the Gardens. (Minutes of Penzance Council meetings)
10th February 1932
Confirmation of authority and more 20th Century issues
Head Gardener designated Parks Superintendent and a cap bearing these words provided. The lease to the library prohibits the passage of cars through the Gardens(!) (Minutes of Penzance Council meetings)
8th October 1949
Pride and delight of the townsfolk
The Gardeners’ Chronicle carries an article featuring the Morrab Gardens which ‘have, for the past sixty years, been the pride and delight of the townsfolk’. Purchase of the gardens of Morrab House of ‘not much over £3000’ was considered ‘very extravagant and ill advised, and there was much discontent displayed’. Gardens ‘greatly developed and improved, especially in the last 20 years, since Mr. WD Watson, an enthusiast for all things Cornish, and especially for the Morrab Gardens, has been in charge’. (Sue Griffin, personal communication)
1951
Head Gardener retires
William Watson retired from his position as Head Gardener. Shortly before his retirement he wrote “in 21 years I have never had a public holiday and I have had no annual holiday since January 1937. In the summer the garden is open for 97 hours per week and for the whole of that time I may be called upon for duty.” (Sue Griffin, personal communication)
21st Century timeline – the Gardens continue evolving
2002
The Boer War memorial restored
The Boer War Memorial is restored.
2004
The Bandstand renovated
The Bandstand is extensively renovated
Credits: This timeline has been compiled largely from online sources; thanks to researchers who have been generous in sharing the results of their work, in particular Robin Knight; Rick & Mary Parsons (http://west-penwith.org.uk); and Sandra & George Pritchard (http://morrabgardens.tripod.com/)
image sources: (click to expand)
- bandstand behind planting: © Friends of Morrab Gardens | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International