Hotel & Arts Club Penzance

Chapel House, Chapel Street, Penzance, TR18 4AQ Cornwall UK
reception@penzanceartsclub.co.uk | 44 (0)1736 363761
Proprietor: Belinda Rushworth-Lund

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Hotel, Arts Club & Accommodation

The Penzance Hotel and Arts Club was formed during the winter of 1993 and finally opened at Chapel House on 29th May 1994. The proprietor is the textile designer Belinda Rushworth-Lund. The principal function of the Arts Club is to provide acommodation and a congenial venue for people of like minds to meet, dine on freshly prepared food, and to entertain their friends, colleagues and business associates. The Club is also dedicated, in it's own way, to promoting the arts in Cornwall and the South West.

Bar and Lounge

The two rooms that make the bar and lounge were once the state rooms of the Portuguese Embassy. The bar is stocked with a wide selection of wines and beers and also has a collection of fine malt whiskies. The day's newspapers and coffee are always available. French windows from the bar give access to the balcony and delightful walled garden, with sea views over Mounts bay and plentiful seating.

The Garden

The walled garden is private and has interesting views of the harbour; St Michael's Mount and the bay. It is often the venue for special celebrations during the summer months, including champagne suppers, barbeques, wedding receptions, balls and festivals.

Benefits of Arts Club Membership

Membership of the Club confers full and free use of the Club facilities, allows your art work to be displayed throughout the building, gives access to like-minded artists and potential purchasers, and provides an attractive location for conducting arts-related business.

Members can invite guests to the Club for drinks, or to use the accommodation to stay overnight in one of the bedrooms. (Entry is now by intercom on the main door.)

As a private club the bar and hotel accommodation are all subsidised for members.

Members may display some examples of their work throughout the building at no charge; these are re-hung at monthly intervals in order that exhibitors share favoured positions. Artists may also book the foyer gallery for a solo exhibition of their work, be it painting, drawings, jewellery, textiles, ceramics, sculpture or photography. Exhibitions run for two weeks each, to allow for fresh works to be continually displayed. Commission of only 20% is charged on works sold by members and 35% by non-members.

A quarterly newsletter is sent free to all members informing them of what's going on at the Club and inviting them to forthcoming events. The newsletter also provides information on exhibitions and other related matters that are taking place at different venues.

Members may book the club facilities for birthday parties and other private functions: everything from a small children's party to a formal banquet can be accommodated.

Reciprocal membership at:

• United Arts Club, Dublin
• Dover Street Arts Club, London
• The Ravine Club, Australia
• City University Club, London
• The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh
• The Glasgow Arts Club
• The Washington Arts Club, Washington D.C.
• The De Kring, Amsterdam

Events

A wide range of events are held to suit varied tastes. All kinds of musical evenings are arranged, including folk, classical, Jazz & rock. There are often impromptu jamming sessions. Themed fancy dress nights are very popular, with champagne and prizes given to those with the best costumes.
Lectures, discussions, poetry readings, recitals and performance art are frequently held by members and invited guests.
Members are also encouraged to produce plays, performance and the Club pantomime. A Summer Arts Ball is held most years.
For events see events page.

Cricket

The club runs it's own cricket team, with local matches taking place. Refreshments are available. A full fixture list, which includes matches against The Chelsea Arts Club, and The Rain Men is available from early in the year. The Cricket club continues a strong tradition of cricket being played by local artists, which goes back to the Famous Newlyn artistic community of the late nineteenth century. A fascinating collection of photographs resides in the Redruth Public Library featuring a string of artists posing for the team photos.

History of Chapel House

Built in 1780, the Penzance Hotel & Arts Club is one of Penzance's treasured examples of Georgian architecture. The interior has been tastefully restored, exposing many of the delightful original features. From the Foyer Gallery, the wide and graceful staircase leads to a landing whose large bow headed window overlooks Penzance Harbour and provides far-reaching views across Mounts Bay. The bar and lounge were once the staterooms of the Portuguese Embassy and still retain their elegance. The French windows in the bar give access to the balcony and delightful walled garden, which also enjoys views of the bay.