Penzance Town

Penzance What's it really like ??

One of the most noticeable things about Penzance is the sense of community and the relaxed friendly pace of life, its also a centre of culture and art

Penzance has a population of around 19,000, a seaport, heliport and main line railway terminus with daily train services to destinations throughout Britain

Penzance harbour
Penzance harbour

The port is used by local fishing vessels & the Isles of Scilly Steamship company who operate both a passenger ferry & a freight vessel.

The penzance dry dock & local marine engineering companies generate repair and fit out activity both in the dry dock & the floating harbour with ship & trawler repair & luxury yacht conversion

The harbour is also home to a growing number of traditional ex working fishing vessels including the Mounts Bay Luggers:

Ocean Pride PZ134 built Newlyn 1922

Happy Return built Porthleven 1904
Mounts Bay Lugger Association

Also the Baltic Trader Ruth
firstrate sail

The Penzance town banner

The Penzance town banner shows the date of the charter of incorporation of the 'borough of penzance' in 1614

The central symbol - John the Baptist's head on a plate - was bequethed to Penzance by the Knights Templar of Tehiddy on their dissolution

The name Pen - zance translates loosely into English as saint's or holy headland - pen being cornish for head & sans saint this is similar to another cornish word absorbed into the english lanuage: penquin which is white head - qwyn being cornish for white

For more information about the Cornish language visit the Cornish Language Fellowship

Penzance & Newlyn Rugby Club's Senior XV
The Cornish Pirates are one of Cornwall's sporting success stories

In the season 2005/6 they acheived 3rd place in National league 1, their highest-ever league placing, whilst the youth teams also recorded an amazing number of quite considerable achievements