Black History of Penzance

Forgotten past. Hidden stories. An ever-evolving present.

Who were the Black people who lived, worked, travelled, served, created and made their lives in Penzance?

Black History of Penzance begins with that question and follows the evidence through the town, across Penwith and, where necessary, into the wider history of Cornwall.

From historical figures and early records to more recent arrivals and contemporary voices, this book brings together stories that have too often remained scattered across archives, newspapers, photographs, family memories and local knowledge.

It is a history of people — not simply dates and events.

It explores connections that reach across centuries, while keeping Penzance at the centre of the story. Along the way, it encounters people whose names may be familiar, others who have been largely forgotten, and stories that raise new questions about how the history of this Cornish town has been remembered.

But this is not presented as the final word.

It is an invitation to look again.

To discover the people who were here.

To recognise the lives that helped shape the town.

And to ask what stories may still be waiting to be found.

Black history is Penzance history.

This book is part of an ongoing journey of informing, notifying and reporting back — opening the conversation and inviting people to contribute their own knowledge, memories, photographs and stories to the continuing history of Penzance.