THE SCHOOL ROOM archive
In 2024, we were awarded funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards the repairs and refurbishment of the School Room which, along with the former Methodist Church building, has become our new venue, Art Centre Penryn.
The funding enabled us to transform the School Room into a creative art space, with six artist studios, a shared workspace and an art room for courses and community activities. The refurbishment scheme was designed by Dow Jones Architects.
In addition to the refurbishment works, we used some of the funding to create an archive of the building and its history. We wanted to make a record of the interior of there building before it changed, gain an appreciation of its local importance, find out about what happened here over the years and honour people’s memories and personal connections to the School Room going back decades.
We visited Kresen Kernow in Redruth and hunted through the records they hold, interviewed people connected to the building, and photographed every room, wall, nook and cranny. We also commissioned artist Naomi Frears to make a new film work inspired by the former stage on the first floor of the School Room and the wonderful activity that has taken place there. Find out about the film project, Goodbye and Good Luck here.
Paying attention to the building’s past has informed its re-use. For example, the refurbishment was purposefully light-touch in places, leaving many original floors, ceilings, fixtures, colours and even some peeling paint in place so as not to ‘wipe clean’ all signs of former use. The new art room continues to bring people together for social and educational activities, as the building did for over 100 years. We have resurrected a knit and natter group that took place here and are planning meals, open days, markets and more, all inspired by things we heard when creating this archive.
This archive was made possible with the generous participation of people who gave up their time to be interviewed, and shared wonderful memories and photographs of activities at the building going back to the 1940s.
Thank you to
Interviewees: Rose Webber, Philippa Holden, Sharon Bawden, Ally Williams, Liz Chivers, Lou Brett and Lynsey Robinson
Interviewer: Katie Etheridge
Lottie Matthews for photography
Kresen Kernow for their support in exploring their archive
The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Lottery players for supporting the project
Click on the images below to explore the School Room Archive
