Market House

market house

The beating heart of Penzance – a focal point for one and all

The Market House is now community owned, purchased by PZRC for Penzance. The building is in a bad way, and on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register. There are still many original details that will be saved and restored. Lloyds Bank are now carrying out extensive repairs, and PZRC will be bringing the Humphry Davy end of the building back to life.

The Market House has never been a single use building. The floors and rooms inside have always been adapted to provide what the community wanted or needed. This helped form the basis of our philosophy and approach to re-energising the building for a new historic chapter.

View of the newly built Market House from the front. Rather stylized view with the streets much wider than they actually were.
Published by J P Vibert. (Image courtesy of Penlee House Gallery & Museum)

Community Hub

A reception run by Penzance Council in the lower ground floor will give face-to-face access to local services and community support, in the heart of town.

Image: Poynton Bradbury Architects

Market Hall

Three street-food kitchens and a bar. A new place to meet in the centre of town.

Image: Poynton Bradbury Architects

Restaurant with a Bird's Eye View

Open all year round and offering locally sourced seasonal food. Providing job opportunities for graduates from Truro and Penwith College and operating under the guidance of an internationally recognised Cornish chef.

Image: Poynton Bradbury Architects

Opportunities

We are aiming to open for business early in 2027.

We will be looking for local people and enterprises that might fancy taking on a street food kitchen.

There will also be new job opportunities: a business manager; a bar manager; and front of house staff.

Let us know if you might be interested contactus@pzrc.co.uk

Market House is part funded by the UK Government’s Towns Fund and supported by Cornwall Council and Penzance Town Deal Board. Cornwall Council is the Lead Authority for the Town Deal programme in Cornwall and supports the governance role of the Penzance Town Deal Board and the Fund administration.