The PPL is pleased to announce that from 12th April onwards, we will be open from 10am to 2pm every Saturday.

Monthly coffee mornings will continue to take place between 10.30am and 12.30pm. 

The PPL has a collection of archives and rare books in storage. Thanks to the work of volunteer Emma Barrett-Brown (pictured), many of these have now been catalogued and can be viewed here.

The PPL has managed to secure another grant of £250 from Plymouth Octopus. We are very grateful to them as we continue to move forward.   

At the AGM in February, Father Gregory (pictured) stood down as President of the PPL. The trustees would like to thank him for all his work and commitment as President. He remains a trustee of the PPL.

The full list of trustees are as follows:

Mr Peter Howarth: President

Mr Robert Turner: Vice President

Mrs Susan Bartlett: Hon. Secretary

Mr Peter Smerdon: Hon. Treasurer

Mr James Bridgewater

Rev. Tim Buckley

Father Gregory Carpenter

Mr Roger Howe

Mr Paul McCoy

Mr Mani Mdebele

Mr Adrian Warley

In November, Chris Robinson spoke to an enthralled, full capacity audience. His illustrated talk on Plymouth since WW2 was followed by a presentation where he was made a Patron of the PPL. We very much look forward to working with Chris in the future, and you can read our article about the history and current activities at the PPL here. 

On a visit to Chris Robinson's shop a year ago, a selection of his works were kindly donated to the library to ensure we have a comprehensive collection.  His shop on the Barbican will be open Tuesdays to Saturdays 11am to 4pm from Tuesday 3rd December to Saturday 21st December.  

During November's coffee morning, Sandra Greenhalgh was made an honorary member of the Plymouth Proprietary Library in recognition of all her work for the library, not least in finding and securing our current premises. The presentation was made by PPL President, Father Gregory Carpenter. 

In October the Library Manager of the PPL  joined over 150 library representatives and 20 MPs at the Terrace Pavilion in the House of Commons for a reception organised by CILIP (the Library Association). The event was held to champion the 'Libraries Change Lives" campaign and was hosted by Laurence Turner MP. You can find out more about the event and the campaign here and also read my blog about the day.

On Saturday 10th August Judy Leigh became a Patron of the PPL. 

Judy worked as a teacher of theatre in several areas of the UK and briefly in China. She took a Masters in Professional Writing at Falmouth University in 2015. Her first novel A Grand Old Time was published by HarperCollins in Spring 2018.

In 2020, Judy joined Boldwood Books and has currently written twenty novels that have sold over a million copies. All of her novels celebrate friendship, the ups and downs of life, relationships, the power of laughter and the belief that everyone should have a second chance at happiness, whatever their age. 

Judy has a cosy crime series, the first of which is called Foul Play at Seal Bay. She also writes dual timeline historical stories under the name of Elena Collins (her grandmother's name).

On Saturday 8th June we welcomed long-time supporter Laura Horton as a new Patron of the Plymouth Proprietary Library.

Laura is a multi-award-winning writer and was the first playwright Laureate of Plymouth. Her debut play Labyrinth Diet was an OFFCOMM winner in 2021. Her follow-up Breathless was awarded the Pleasance Regional Partnership. It won a Fringe First, was a finalist for the Popcorn Award and was shortlisted for other prestigious prizes. The show enjoyed runs at Soho Theater and 59e59 Off-Broadway in 2023, where it was the New York Times critic's pick.

On commission at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Laura is developing the dark comedy, Life Underwater, which received a reading at the Criterion Theatre in late 2023. She is adapting Life Underwater and Breathless for television. Her first short film, A Summer of Birds, was the Toast of the Fringe winner in 2021. 

The PPL are the proud recipients of a very generous donation: 'Spirit of Dartmoor Tin', a lavishly illustrated photo-essay book on Dartmoor, and in particular the influence of tin and tinners upon the moor. It is the work of twenty years, and only 100 will ever be produced. It has a Dartmoor tin stannary seal embedded in the cover of one volume.

The PPL is pleased to announce a new acquisition: A Prophecy of Perillous Times published by the 'Parliamentary' Preacher, Rev. Thomas Willes in 1656 and tells of perilous times during the English Civil War. 

There is a lot to discover within this generous donation as it has handwritten English, Latin and Greek annotations throughout.

This book will remain with the Plymouth Proprietary Library in perpetuity as we continue to develop our archives and rare book collection.