Morrab Memories is the first project that we started when we opened our doors, almost a year ago now. Before the building was even finished, the idea to use the space to help capture people’s memories of the gardens was tried as a pilot, and resulted in a short and very sweet audio piece with the voices of the elders from Pengarth Day Centre.
We really wanted to develop this idea – and so, with funding from Historic England, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this idea was turned into our first big project – a Morrab Memories film!
In June 2025, students from Humphry Davy School were invited to come and spend time with the people of Pengarth Day Centre, capturing some of their memories of spending time in Morrab Gardens before they were lost.
Produced, edited and directed by the students of Humphry Davy School, this short film shows the stories of Morrab Gardens, as remembered by the elders who attend Pengarth Day Centre.
The students were the makers, designers and editors of the film, spending many weeks on the art and image building you see in the film. This is their present to the people of Penzance, to make sure that the memories of our small but magical garden are preserved.
The students have worked really hard to produce this charming film, and we hope you love it as much as we do!
Our Morrab Memories project was awarded £16,300 by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grants programme – giving us an exciting opportunity to capture our communities memories about Morrab Gardens and preserve them for future generations.
Morrab Gardens is a much-loved community garden and as part of the community of Penzance since 1841, many people have stories and memories relating to these beautiful sub-tropical gardens in the heart of the town.
This funding meant we could collect, record and share memories about Morrab Gardens, creating a record of these stories for posterity and preserving their importance within our community. We hosted three events in Morrab Gardens which will helped spark those memories – based on the food, music and celebrations – and the students from Humphry Davy came to visit and to spend time with the older generation of people.
The Gardeners’ House team supported he students to make a film based on the stories they heard. This beautiful film will ensure stories about Morrab Gardens and what they mean to the local community will be kept for future generations, and will be a part of the archive at the Gardeners’ House for many years to come.
