Palais de Danse, St Ives
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| Palais de Danse | |
|---|---|
 Palais de Danse in March 2023 | |
| Location | St Ives, Cornwall, England |
| Coordinates | 50°12′48″N 5°28′51″W / 50.213391°N 5.480808°W |
| Owner | Tate |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Palais de Danse and southern boundary wall |
| Designated | 29 April 2020 |
| Reference no. | 1468044 |
  Location of Palais de Danse in Cornwall | |
The Palais de Danse is a former cinema, dance hall, ballet school and auction house in St Ives, Cornwall which was a studio for sculptor and artist Barbara Hepworth from 1961 until her death in 1975. After her death, the Palais was kept by her family until it was donated to Tate in 2015.[1] In 2020, Historic England designated it a Grade II listed building.[2]
The property was originally an 18th-century stone cottage and part of the premises was used as a navigation school run by a cousin of John T. Short in the early 19th century.[2][3] It was bought by Sir Christopher Hawkins in 1819 and by William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley in 1834.[2] The navigation school continued until at least 1893, and by the beginning of the 20th century most of the buildings on the site were falling into disrepair.[2] In 1910, the site was redeveloped and turned into St Ives's first cinema, called The Picturedrome, which opened on 28 June 1911.[2][4]: 17
It was converted into a dance hall in 1925 (when it first became known as the Palais de Danse) and from 1939 was also used for auctions, concerts and, during the Second World War, a ballet school taught by Phyllis Bedells.[2][5]
Hepworth bought Trewyn Studio at an auction at the Palais on 16 September 1949 "in face of terrific competition" in the words of Ben Nicholson.[4]: 13 She bought it for £2,850 and, including fees, the total cost was just over £3,000.[4]: 13 To make up the money, Hepworth had taken out a mortgage for £1,200, secured a loan on Nicholson's life insurance, and got money from her friends Helen Sutherland, Marcus Brumwell, and Cyril Reddihough.[4]: 13
The building would continue to be used for dances up until 1961,[5] with Hepworth herself frequently dancing there on what was said to be the South West's best-sprung dance floor.[4]: 61
