Almost 150 years of supporting young people in Cornwall

George Williams, a 22-year-old draper’s apprentice from Somerset, founded the first YMCA in London. Shocked by the city’s harsh environment for young men, he and ten others created a space for prayer and Bible study, aiming to improve the spiritual lives of young workers.

YMCA Cornwall was established in Penzance, originally located in the Morrab Library. A building on Market Jew Street was gifted to the YMCA, which shared space with local businesses including a butcher and a hairdresser.

By the turn of the century, YMCA had expanded internationally. It welcomed non-Christians, offered public lectures and education classes, and pioneered physical fitness. Basketball and volleyball were invented at YMCA centres in Massachusetts in the 1890s.

YMCA Cornwall purchased “The Orchard” in Penzance for £6,500. The site was expanded to offer youth accommodation and became a hub for fitness and social events, well attended by the local community.

YMCA Cornwall developed its lower ground floor dining room and additional rooms above, enhancing its facilities for residents and community use.

YMCA Cornwall focused on youth work, supporting young people both in its accommodation and across the local community through various programmes and activities. Opened a nursery in Mullion to support rural families.

YMCA Cornwall’s maintenance team transformed the old sports hall and backpackers’ accommodation into 20 new supported flats for vulnerable young people, creating “Morris House.”

in 2023 we purchased Cherry Tree house and refurbished 10 flats. In 2024 we replaced the roof of Morris house, thanks to the successful Raise The Roof fundraising campaign.

Thanks to funding from the Duke of Cornwall’s Charitable Foundation, YMCA Cornwall launched its latest campaign — Your Help, Their Future — by beginning the conversion of underused space into four new flats.

This vital project will help meet the growing demand for homes for young people currently on our waiting list.