Penzance is a city located in Cornwall, England, with a population of approximately 20.000 people. Penzance is the most westerly large town in the region and is also a port and a civil parish. The name of the city is given by the Cornish word "pensans" meaning "holy headland". The name is inspired by the location of St. Anthony's chapel, chapel which over 1000 years ago was found on the place where now is Penzance Harbor. Nowadays, the only thing remaining from the famous chapel is a carved figure of St. Raffidy, now on display in the churchyard of St. Mary's, the parish church in Penzance, built near the original chapel.
Situated on the shores of Mount's Bay, a body of water dominated by the grandeur of St. Michael's Mount. Only 10 miles from Land's End, the town is surrounded by an area of Celtic culture and outstanding natural beauty. Majestic cliffs, rocky coves, pristine sandy beaches and crystal clear seas vie with the heather and gorse of the moors and early Christian and Bronze Age sites to form a landscape that is the heritage of a proud culture, and a source of inspiration for artists, writers and poets.
Newlyn Art Gallery established in 1895 was originally projected by James Hicks of Redruth as an exhibition venue for the artists from the Newlyn School of Arts. The gallery was financed by John Passmore Edwards and dedicated to John Opie, a famous artist from Cornwall, whose memory is honored through a plaque made from Newlyn cooper attached to the building.
Penlee House is the local museum and art gallery exhibiting paintings by Cornwall artists and members of the Newlyn School of Arts. The most important painting in Penlee House is Norman Garstin's The Rain it Raineth. He lived in town for many years. This house in Penzance was built as a residence of the Branwell family in 1865 and purchased from the inheritors by the Penzance Borough Council in 1946.
The Penlee Cross, located also in Penzance, near the Penlee House, is a large cross from the 11th century made entirely from granite, with a height of 66 inch. Apparently, her original place is not near the museum, it has been moved more than three times already and it always remained in Penzance, the places the cross were exposed being quite close one from another.
