The Way We Were

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Victorian Cornwall captured in the Penlee House Exhibition, Cornwall


I just love looking at old photographs, it makes history feel real and tangible. If you are travelling down west to Penzance this year, from the 12th Jan to the 16th of March you can see a new exhibition at Penlee House. This creative hub will showcase around 100 images in their Luminaries exhibition, revealing how west Cornwall looked in the Victorian era.

The collection contains some of the Gibson & Sons archive which Penlee acquired in 2016, plus professional and amateur photographers from the time. These include Robert Preston, William Colenso and John Branwell who was the first owner of Penlee House.

A fascinating glimpse into the social history in this beautiful part of Cornwall, and a chance to see what has changed, if anything, in the last 100 hundred years.

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