Local area around The Chocolate House
Chapel Street
The Chapel Street area has several good cafes, pubs, restaurants, bistros and boutiques. There are studios, art galleries, book shops and antique shops all within the immediate area.
The Chocolate House is located in Chapel Street, the oldest street in the town, with many buildings dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is the main thoroughfare from the harbour to the town centre and runs from Queens Square in the middle of town to the top of ancient Quay Street. Information about Chapel Street in Penzance.
Buildings of historical interest include towards the top of the street the Egyptian House built in 1836 and now owned by the Landmark Trust. it was originally built in 1836 by John Lavin, a Penzance mineralogist, to house a geological museum. The ground floor now houses the Pure Nuff Stuff shop selling an excellent range of ethically produced skincare products, cosmetics and soaps that we use in the cottage.
The Union Hotel was originally built as a public assembly room by public subscription in 1791 and still contains the dilapidated remains of a Georgian Theatre built in 1787. The Turks Head is the oldest public house in the town and was built in the fourteenth century. It offers an excellent range of food and drinks. Nearby in New Street, is Harris’s Restaurant. This is a small internationally acclaimed establishment listed in many top eating guides. At the top of Chapel Street is At Source, a café and grocery shop specialising in local Cornish produce. Further down Chapel Street is the house the Branwell family lived in. Maria Branwell, mother of the Bronte sisters, is commemorated by a plaque on a 1780s house and the Branwell family grave is in Penzance churchyard. At the bottom of Chapel Street is St Mary’s Church . Chapel Street leads into Quay Street before it meets the harbour. In 1585 the Dolphin Tavern, in Quay Street, served as recruiting place for the Armada and was also used as a courtroom in its long history. The Dolphin provides good quality food and drinks on the harbourside.
What the newspapers say about Chapel Street
We love Chapel Street and we think it is a special place, but we are naturally biased. This is what the national newspapers have to say about it:
“The increasingly sophisticated Chapel Street is home to a wealth of galleries, shops, bistros and old pubs. Having been an important port in the 18th century, Penzance has more Georgian buildings than any other town in Cornwall.”
Daily Telegraph/January 2008
“Chapel Street is the showpiece street. At the top of it stands the Union Hotel, where the death of Nelson was first proclaimed, with the Georgian Theatre, built around 1786, at the rear. Farther down the hill is the Turk's Head and the Admiral Benbow, two 17th-century pubs, both full of maritime memorabilia. The Abbey Hotel, previously owned by the Sixties model Jean Shrimpton, is just around the corner.”
The Times/March 2008
“Today, Penzance is blossoming and its arts scene has grown into one that is arguably unrivalled in Cornwall, even by St Ives. That it’s on the up is evident from a quick stroll down Chapel Street, one of the ancient market town’s oldest thoroughfares.”
The Observer/April 2008
"Penzance is on a 21st-century roll. The promenade has been renovated and gives glorious views of the sweeping Mount's Bay. A few steps inland is the part-chic, part-bohemian 17th-century Chapel Street, which has become the sophisticated café-strewn centre of Penzance's burgeoning arts scene.”
Financial Times/November 2008
“In Penzance, you are never far from the sea. You are never far from an art gallery either. There are two good bookshops, two good pubs and a couple of decent restaurants. Cut through the alleys lined with elegant Georgian captains’ houses and you come out at the top of Chapel Street, which winds down towards the harbour and is, for my money, as fine a street as any in the country.”
The Times/April 2009
“Walk down Chapel Street past the Union Hotel, where the death of Nelson was first proclaimed, then the two seventeenth century pubs, and you’ll find the art galleries that are giving the town an uplift. It has a couple of successful theatre companies and an arts club affiliated with the Groucho Club in London.”
The Sunday Times/July 2011
Local area around Penzance
Penzance has a wealth of interesting attractions all within walking distance of the cottage. The sub-tropical Morrab Gardens are worth a visit. They are home to the Morrab Library, one of the few remaining private libraries in the country. Around this area are many attractive Regency buildings, especially in Regent Terrace and Regent square.
Nearby is Penlee House and Gardens, and within the gardens is a small art gallery with regular exhibitions of paintings and a permanent collection of works by the nineteenth century Newlyn School artists such as Stanhope Forbes and Walter Langley. During the summer, plays are performed in the park. The town’s most famous person is probably Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), inventor of the miners’ safety lamp. His statue stands in the centre of town at the top of Market Jew Street, in front of the granite porticoes of the 19th century Market House now used by a bank. From Penzance harbour, ferries go to the Isles of Scilly. Next to the harbour is the Jubilee open air swimming pool, an art deco listed building that opened in 1935. Along the famous promenade is the village of Newlyn with a large fleet of fishing boats in the harbour and a wholesale fish market.
Nearby attractions
Nearby attractions on the Penwith Peninsula, all within 12 miles, include the picturesque villages of Newlyn and Mousehole , the open-air Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, Lands End visitor centre, St Ives and the Tate St Ives, and the historic St Michael’s Mount.
The beach at Sennen is considered good for surfing. There are several National Trust properties and gardens in West Cornwall, including Trengwainton and Trewidden Gardens. Chysauster Ancient Village, an Iron Age settlement, was originally occupied almost 2,000 years ago.
The old Geevor Tin Mine at Pendeen has a visitor centre. The South West Coastal Footpath follows the coast all the way around the Penwith Peninsula and has several stretches of spectacular walks. A little further away, about 40 miles to the east near St Austell, can be found the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.