The Roundhouse and Capstan Gallery in Sennen Cove is a showcase for excellence in Cornish fine art and craft, featuring an ever changing display of work by many popular and established Cornish artists and crafts people.
As one of the most iconic buildings in West Cornwall, with its feet almost in the Atlantc Ocean, the Roundhouse, a Grade II listed building, was built in 1876 to house the huge man powered capstan wheel which was originally open to the elements on the Sennen harbour beach. Originally part of the winding gear of a local tin mine before the advent of steam, the capstan was used to winch boats up and down the slip. The upper floor of the building was used as a net-loft until it started life as a gallery in 1983. The Capstan Gallery on the lower floor still houses the old wheel, which is now covered in glass and used to display artwork. The capstan room was transformed in 1997 from an open earth-floored cellar into this downstairs gallery and is now home to some of the finest paintings, sculpture and ceramics by the district’s most talented artists. All the work in this Grade II listed building is from Cornwall or has a strong Cornish connection. The net loft with its very low beams on the upper floor houses even more fine art and an ever-changing display of pottery, prints, photography, jewellery, glass and other craftwork created by local artists and crafts people.