Egyptian House, Penzance
| Egyptian House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | 6–7 Chapel Street, Penzance, Cornwall, England |
| Coordinates | 50°07′04″N 5°32′11″W / 50.11788°N 5.53637°W |
| Built | 1835–1836 |
| Owner | Landmark Trust |
| Website | https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/egyptian-house-3-6812 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 29 July 1950 |
| Reference no. | 1143147 |
  Location of Egyptian House in Cornwall | |
The Egyptian House is a
History
The building is at 6–7 Chapel Street, Penzance. An older building on the site was owned by Richard Hitchens of
There is some dispute over the architect and the date of build.
.jpg)
In his Guide to Penzance, published in 1845, J S Courtney describes the building as ".... the astonishing gaudy and eccentric Egyptian House recently built by John Lavin, mineralogist and Egyptologist".[7] Mineral collectors visited the building to see and purchase from Mr Lavin's collection. His son, Edwin Lavin, in about 1865, sold the collection for £3000 to Baroness Burdett Coutts who donated it to the University Museum, Oxford.[5] In 1878 and 1879, the property is described as ″The Library″ in weekly advertisements in The Cornishman newspaper, and states that Mrs Daves stocks ″a large and complete stock of berlin and other wools, stationery, useful and ornamental articles″.[8] Mrs Daves moved her business to nearby Queen Square in March 1882.[9]
The building was later neglected and was repainted "brightly but inexpertly" by Norman Shipton in 1960.[3][10] In 1973, it was acquired by the Landmark Trust and scaffolding, which had been erected for several years, was removed to reveal a refurbished building and a new exterior colour scheme of brown and creams.[2][3] The architect Paul Pearn of Plymouth concluded that these were the original colours after stripping layers of paint from the elaborate mouldings which were mainly of coade stone.[10] The building continues to be managed by the Landmark Trust, with two shops on the ground floor and holiday accommodation on the upper floors.[3][10]
References
- ^ Historic England. "Egyptian House". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d Laws, Peter. A Review of the Architecture of Penzance. In: Pool, Peter A S (1974). The History of the Town and Borough of Penzance. Penzance: Corporation of Penzance.
- ^ ISBN 9781445665863.
- ^ Boase, George Clement (1890). Collectanea Cornubiensia.
- ^ a b c A Native (13 December 1883). "Reminiscences of Penzance". The Cornishman. No. 283. p. 4.
- ^ Lesley Gillilan (24 February 2021). "Plymouth: the architecture tour". Eye Traveller. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4456-4263-5.
- ^ "Trade Announcements". The Cornishman. No. 50. 26 June 1879. p. 2.
- ^ "Notice of Removal". The Cornishman. Vol. 194, no. 184. 30 March 1882. p. 1.
- ^ a b c "PEZPH : 1989.1103". Penlee House. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
External links
Media related to Egyptian House, Penzance at Wikimedia Commons