Discover Penzance, Cornwall

Penzance Harbour, Cornwall, England: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PZHARBOURPANORAMA.jpg
Author: Marktee1


Penzance is a town on the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. It has a population of 21,000 people. The most westerly major town in Cornwall, it is about 500 km (300 mi) from London.

Penzance is located within Mount's Bay, which opens into the English Channel. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced in the discovery of prehistoric stone axes in the area. The diswcovery of a Roman fort at Calstock provided proof that the Romans had also established themselves in Penzance.

Penzance does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, even though it most certainly has been settled by then. Its first mention was in the Assize Roll in 1284, as Pensans. The church that gave the town its name is said to date to the 12th century.

In 1332 Penzance became a market town when it received a Royal Charter to hold a market. The right was granted by King Edward III to Alice de Liste. The weekly market held on Wednesdays helped Penzance to grow. It was also allowed to hold a fair, lasting seven days, during the Feast of St Peter.

St Mary's Church, Penzance: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Mary%27s_Church_Penzance_-_geograph.org.uk_-_308813.jpg
Author: Tony Atkin


Penzance Promenade, with Jubilee Pool in the background: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penzance_promenade_-_geograph.org.uk_-_164371.jpg
Author: Phil Williams


Penzance was given town status by King James I in 1614. In 1755 it was hit by a tsunami caused by the Lisbon earthquake whose epicenter is 1000 km away. It caused the sea to rise eight feet in Penzance, but fortunately little damage was recorded.

By the 19th century, Penzance had become a regional center. The West Cornwall Railway was built to terminate at Penzance Railway Station in 1852. Its population peaked in 1861 at 3,843 people. Then, as with other towns in Cornwall, it registered a decline, to 3,088 in 1901, and to a low of 2,616 in 1921. Population increased once more, to 4,888 in 1931 and 5,545 in 1951.

Today the economy of Penzance depends on light industries, tourism and the retail trade.

Visiting Penzance

It takes about 6 hours to drive from London to Penzance. Take the M4 motorway, followed by the M5 and then the A30 road. Trains from London Paddington station to Penzance takes 5 hours. There are also trains from Plymouth (2 hours) and Bristol (4 hours).

Penzance Railway Station: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penzance_43133.jpg
Author: Geof Sheppard

Places of Interest in Penzance

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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