Plymouth Proprietary Library

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 at 2pm.

£4 for members. £8 for non-members.

This talk on Ann Glanville - 'the world's female champion rower' in the C19th will be given by Saltash local historian Barry Brooking who will explore the facts of her life and the number of myths that came out surrounding her achievements.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Saturday 25th October 2025 at 2pm.

Free for members. £4 for non-members.

Rev. Tim Buckley (PPL trustee) launches his new book at the PPL: The Hearts of the Fathers, the second Adam Pennycome novel. Continuing many of the themes from the first book, it asks the question - what do you do when you can no longer ignore the past?

Join Tim as he discusses his new novel and read excerpts before taking questions from the audience. Refreshments will be provided.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Tuesday 28th October 2025: 10.30am - 12.45pm.

£15 for members. £20 for non-members.

We will make hard covers and stitch pages using traditional bookbinding techniques and modern materials. Swiss binding is a technique whereby only the final endpaper is glued to the cover so the stitches can be revealed and the book lies flat when open. The result is an attractive and durable book ideal for journaling, sketching, recipes etc.

The class (run by Louise Kingdom) is suitable for all levels including complete beginners. All materials are provided, along with refreshments, and you will take home your unique notebook.

E-mail the library at admin@theppl.org.uk to reserve a place, or ring 01752 659907 and leave a message.

There are a maximum of seven places.  

Tuesday 4th November 2025: 10.30am - 12.30pm. 

Tickets: £20

Course run by Louise Kingdom.

We will cover different surfaces (card, bamboo paper, watercolour paper, tissue, cartridge paper) in colourful one-off designs, using a technique that you can easily recreate at home with minimal equipment.

You will then be guided in turning the materials into items of your choice, including: wall art, gift wrap, cards, decorations and notebooks.

Add your favourite quote or song lyric to one of your faux-watercolour backgrounds. You can use carbon paper to trace a variety of fonts on free-hand-lettering. A frame is included along with all materials and refreshments.

Tickets are £20 available through Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chicanery-books-103728293701

There are a maximum of seven places.

Wednesday 12th November 2025 at 2pm.

£4 for members. £8 for non-members.

A blue plaque in Turnchapel, Plymouth reads: 'On his return from India, T.E. Lawrence under the assumed name of Shaw was posted to a flying boat squadron at R.A.F. Mount Batten.' Find out more as speaker Ursula Myers returns to the PPL for an illustrated talk. 

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 26th November 2025 at 2pm.

£4 for members. £8 for non-members.

Chris Robinson (MBE and PPL Patron) returns to the PPL to talk about his new book 'A History of Plympton', the first attempt at a 'comprehensive' history of Plympton St Maurice, St Mary, Colebrook and Underwood, plus the many more recent developments. Chronicling well over a thousand years of the area's back story, this illustrated talk gives an account of what was 'a borough town when Plymouth was just a fuzzy down!' 

Saturday 6th December 2025.

Cost: £30 each.

Do get in touch with the library in person or email: admin@theppl.org.uk if you would like to come, and let us know of any dietary requirements.

10.00am: Library opens. There will be hot drinks available, quizzes to do and raffle tickets to purchase.

1.00pm: Afternoon tea is served, including a selection of sandwiches, pastries, salads, and sweets.

2.00pm: A short talk: Christmas: Good cheer, good times ... and goodwill to all?

Christmas trees, presents, puddings, party games and happy families - what could possibly go wrong? Elaine Henderson presents a light-hearted look at some Christmas themed crime classics, from such experts as Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Agatha Christie. And finishing off with a short reading of one of the best, A Surprise for Christmas - now, who doesn't love a surprise?

2.30pm: Time to refresh your plates, find out how you have done on the quizzes, and a last chance to buy raffle tickets.

3.00pm: Raffle prizes handed out.

Saturday 13th December 2025.

During the coffee morning (10.30am - 12.30pm) we are very happy to welcome back the Devonport Park Community Choir. At 11am they will be singing Christmas carols for around half an hour and encouraging everyone to join in!

Launch: Saturday 10th January 2026: 10am - 2pm.

Works produced by members of the PPL watercolour group will be on display. Following the launch on Saturday 10th Jan (10am - 2pm), the paintings will remain on display until Wednesday 21st Jan.

Wednesday 14th January 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

Pamela Vass returns to the PPL to tell the story of Mary Kelynack. Mary spent her entire life in the small community of Newlyn in the far west of Cornwall. Yet in 1851 she was so inspired by the wonders of the Great Exhibition in London that she resolved to go, one way or another. Travelling by coach or train was beyond her means but there was one thing she could do - walk.

Before long she became a celebrity - taking tea with the Lord Mayor, being interviewed by the Illustrated London News, modelled by a famous sculptor, having a polka named after her ... and even greeting the Queen.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Saturday 24th January 2026: 2pm - 4pm

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

Is there a novel, a play or a poem in your head battling to get out? Join prizewinning novelist and playwright (and PPL patron) Babs Horton for a 2 hour writing workshop to explore your creativity and hone your writing skills. 

Please contact the library in advance to book a place. Maximum: 15 places.

Wednesday 28th January 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

The Plymouth coastguard search and rescue team consists of 15 volunteers who are ready to respond to a wide variety of incidents 24/7 and 365 days a week covering in excess of 50 miles of coastline and tidal river frontage working alongside other emergency services. Since its' true formation in 1822, the service has come a long way and today harnesses new technologies 'To Search, to Rescue, to Save'. 

Come along to hear about how ther service has developed in 200 years and what your local team get involved with today. 

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 11th February 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

A talk by Chrissie le Marchant. More details to come.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 25th February 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

After the Second World War, Plymouth was seeking to reduce its' dependance on the dockyard for employment, and with help from the Board of Trade began the task of attracting businesses to the area.

This illustrated talk by Alan Bricknell looks at the first three large companies to set up in Plymouth after the war, Tecalemit, Berkertex and Bush Radio, and also looks at one of Plymouth's largest home grown companies, Farleys.  

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Saturday 28th February 2026 at 2pm.

Free for members. £5 for non-members.

Ann Gray and David Woolley have published a dozen volumes of poetry between them and edited several others. Born in Plymouth, David published Westwords, a literary and arts magazine for the south west from 1986 to 1992. From 1994 to 2010 he was Literature Officer for Swansea, based at the Dylan Thomas Centre.

Ann established the Liskeard Poetry Group and various other poetry initiatives throughout the 1990s and beyond, including Uncut Poets in Exeter which still runs. She won the Moth Poetry Prize in 2015 and her winning poem was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Awards.  

Ann has run a care home in Liskeard for forty years, David has also been involved in this for over a decade, and together they also ran the Bodmin Moor Poetry Festival for eight years: 2012 to 2019. In 2023 they published Dear Life (Scryfa Press) together and also married. They will read from Dear Life and other work.  

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 25th March 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

We tend to think of gardens as somewhere to relax, perhaps to socialise in, to grow flowers and perhaps some vegetables. However, in the Middle Ages, for many gardening was more closely related to agriculture, it was a neccessity not a luxury and was an essential part of survival. While for the wealthy it was a status symbol, because only the very wealthy could afford to put aside a piece of valuable land and use it purely for display and enjoyment.

This talk by Dr Lynda Pidgeon will look at a variety of gardens and their uses from the 12th to the 15th century, and along the way we will have a tour of some re-created gardens in England and Wales.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 8th April 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

A talk by David Elliott. More details to come.  

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

Following Robert King's talk on Drake's Island last year, this new talk uses recent images to provide a virtual walk around the island to discover what remains of the Island's defences, barracks and underground tunnels.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 13th May 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

In 2023, Professor Angela K. Smith (Emeritus Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Plymouth) spoke at the PPL about her first novel, The Solace of the Common People. 

Her second novel, Where No Shadow Awaits is now out. It has a First World War focus and draws on much of the research work undertaken whilst a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Plymouth. This talk will explore how her research has influenced her fiction. 

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 27th May 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

Dr Helen Wilson returns to the PPL following her sellout talk in 2025 on these professional woodcarvers.

This talk is based on stories the speaker has come across on her research on the Pinwill sisters including those who met or worked for Violet Pinwill, or owned pieces of her work. Their recollections and insights contributed enormously to the research and their stories add a further perspective.  

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 10th June 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

In the 1860s a new type of novel exploded onto the sedate Victoria literary scene, the 'sensation' novel. Tales of desertion, kidnap, bigamy, fraud, arson and even murder amongst the middle and upper classes captivated millions of readers - from the kitchen maid to the Prince of Wales himself.

Join us as we discover more about this all-but-forgotten literary phenomenon and enjoy an afternoon of 'tea and scandal'! A talk by Elaine Henderson.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.

Wednesday 22nd July 2026 at 2pm.

£5 for members. £10 for non-members.

Simon Dell MBE returns to the PPL for a talk on Trywhitt's horse drawn tramway.

The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway was constructed by Thomas Tyrwhitt in the 1820s. His horse drawn tramway ran from Princetown village down to Sutton Harbour in Plymouth. It was used to transport granite from his quarries and in return brought up various goods. This talk will look at the plans and the development for the tramway and with modern images there will be a virtual tour and stroll along its' whole 25 miles length.

To guarantee a seat, contact the library at least 24 hours before the event. Otherwise, simply turn up on the day.