The South West of England: Pt 22 – Truro, Cornwall

Travelling back from Land’s End at the tip of Cornwall, we stopped in a number of places to explore the county. Our 1st stop had been in the town of Penzance, and now we were heading for Truro, Cornwall’s only city and administrative capital…

Truro:

Status: Cornwall Unitary District & County, City, England

Date: 12/08/2014

Travel: Car

Eating & Sleeping: N/A

Attractions: Truro Cathedral, Truro County Hall, City Hall, Coinage Hall, Lander Column, Assembly Rooms, Drummer Statue, Hall for Cornwall, Phillpott Library, Lomen Quay, River Allen, Truro River, Passmore Edwards Public Library etc

Driving into the city on the A390 (coming from the A30 South), we passed Cornwall County Hall on the outskirts of the city. Completed in 1966, the building was designed by F. K. Hicklin, originally as the home of Cornwall County Council, in overall charge of the districts which at the time made up the county. Unlike most counties, Cornwall had no county boroughs (equivalent to today’s Unitary Authorities) so it was a simple 2 tier system. After the Local Government changes in 1974, all previous local government areas in Cornwall were abolished and replaced with 6 districts:

1) Caradon

2) Carrick

3) Kerrier

4) North Cornwall

5) Penwith

6) Restormel

These lasted until 2009, when they too were abolished, and the entire county became one large Unitary Authority. County Hall then became the HQ of all local government in the county, and the County Council were renamed “Cornwall Council”, or “Konsel Kernow” in Cornish. The Hall is therefore also known as Lys Kernow.

As we continued, before we reached the city centre, we spotted another landmark, in the form of the “Lander Column”, which towers above the South end of “Lemon Street”, which leads into the city centre. The Column was built in honour of Richard Lemon Lander (1804 – 1834, Explorer from Truro) who traversed West Africa in the 1820’s and 30’s, starting off as part of the Clapperton Expedition of 1825, headed by Hugh Clapperton (1788 – 1827, Scottish Explorer) who was killed during the expedition. Lander then mounted a few of his own expeditions, which traversed the 160 kilometres of the River Niger from Guinea to Nigeria, paving the way for new trade links, which remain in use today. He was sadly killed in 1834 when his expedition was attacked and he was shot, later dying of his wounds. The column was erected a year later, in memory of one of Cornwall’s most famous sons.

We eventually arrived on one of the central streets in the city, paved with traditional cobbles, and home to a number of the cities most notable buildings, including Truro City Hall, visible on the left with the short Clock Tower and the 5 Arches around the entrance. This stunning building was designed by an architect called Christopher Eales in the 1840’s, and was completed by 1846. Large blocks of granite make for an impressive facade, which would eventually be home to the local Parish Council, who act as Truro City Council. The Tourist Information Centre can also be found in the building, and provides useful information for the surrounding area as well as attractions throughout the city.

Moving left from the City Hall, right in the centre of the street (which splits off into 2 separate ones either side of it) is the cities War Memorial, constructed just after World War I, standing in memory to the brave soldiers from the city who lost their lives during the war, as well as subsequent conflicts. Atop the main plinth stands a bronze statue of a soldier, lifting his hat in a salute (and I think the Seagull is joining in too!).

Behind it stands the Cornish Bank building from 1848, built on the site of the original Coinage Hall, which dated back to 1351. You may be wondering what exactly a Coinage Hall is? In 1305 the city became known for its tin production, and ingots of tin were produced, weighed and sold on. Twice a year the tin men congregated in the Coinage Hall, and one corner of the ingots were removed and weighed, before they were certified and sold. The term “Coinage” comes from the French word for Corner – Coin. This lasted until 1838, and the building was demolished a decade later. The present building is now a Pizza Express, although it retains its beautiful Victorian exterior. On the British Listed Buildings website it is officially listed as 1, Prince’s Street, although when it was built it was known as No. 1 Boscawen Street. This is interesting as the main road running through here is Boscawen Street itself, and it continues down the left side of the building, whilst Princes Street begins on the right side, so the building has actually changed roads, although I feel its status has been slightly diminished now it has moved onto the side road off the main road. Its previous position obviously reflected its important to the community, with it at the head of the main street in the city.

The next landmark on our list in the city was down a small side street coming off Boscawen Street, called Cathedral Lane. That, along with the stunning building that loomed ahead of us, should give you a clue where we were going…

Truro Cathedral, one of the buildings I was most looking forwards to seeing during our trip down South. Its three spires rise high above the city, and actually are visible from most points around the city, making it the standout landmark in Truro. It is also notable for being one of only 2 Cathedrals in England with 3 spires, and only of just 3 across the whole of the UK, the others being Lichfield Cathedral, and St Mary’s in Edinburgh.

Despite its Gothic appearance, Truro Cathedral is one of the newest major Cathedrals in the UK, as construction began in 1880. There was a building already on the site, St Mary’s Church which featured a 128 ft tall spire, but it was demolished in 1880 to allow for the new Cathedral. The architect for the project was John Loughborough Pearson (1817 – 1897, Architect from Durham who also restored Lincoln Cathedral) and this explains the Gothic aspect of the Cathedral, as he was a leading architect in Gothic Revival. It took until 1910 for the entire building to be completed, although small sections opened in stages during the 30 years of construction, such as the Choir & Transepts (1887), the 250 ft Central Tower (1905) and finally the 200 ft Western Towers at the front in 1910 to finish the project. Sadly Mr Pearson passed away in 1897, long before the building was in a recognisable state, so he wouldn’t see his creation complete.

Various materials have been employed in it’s construction, from the Interior Granite (St Stephens), Exterior Granite (Mabe) and the stone of the spires themselves. Inside the building is absolutely stunning, and we spent a long time exploring its depths. It will make a great addition to my “Faith & The British” saga of posts which I shall continue after I have written up all our recent trips.

Outside the front of the Cathedral is a small cobbled square, where a tall, 9th Century stone Celtic Cross stands. Looking past it (located about where I was stood) you get this view up towards the cities main pedestrianised shopping street, which leads past the local Library towards Circuit House, the former home of Carrick District Council. Carrick covered Truro as well as the surrounding area, and as the 6 Cornwall Districts have been abolished the building stands empty, and there are plans to redevelop it. There is another building showing up nearby on the map called Carrick House which is also labelled Cornwall Council so I assume this had something to do with the old district council as well.

On the far side of the square sits the former Assembly Rooms building, completed in either the 1770’s or 80’s. Its a lovely little building, with a series of stone plaques part way up the building. The one in the centre features two griffins, sat either side of an urn. To the left of that is a plaque of David Garrick (1717 – 1779, English Playwright), and on the right is a plaque of William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). Above all of these, the top central plaque features a picture of Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Wisdom and the Arts, which makes sense as the building was also in use as a Theatre.

We left the area round the Cathedral, and made our way back past the City and Coinage Halls, up Prince’s Street onto Quay Street, heading towards the riverside. On the way we passed a number of interesting buildings, including the one shown above, which is made up of two listed buildings.

The 1st is on the right, and was opened as a joint Library, Masonic Hall and Meeting House in 1869. The Library section was named the Bishop Phillpott Library, after Henry Phillpotts (1778 – 1869, Bishop of Exeter from Torquay in Devon) which he helped to fund in 1856. A shield bearing the mark of crossed keys resides above the main entrance, and the words “Bishop Phillpotts Library” surround it.

The far end of the block to the left is called the “Britannia Inn” dating back to the 18th Century. It is still open today, and together the block of slate buildings make for an interesting set.

We soon reached one of the two city centre rivers, which, for most of it’s route through the city, is called the River Allen. Just past the Britannia Inn is the A39 Main Road, and on the far side of that the River Allen merges with the Truro River, to form one large River. South of Truro, the Truro River then merges with the River Fal and the Fal continues on until it reaches the English Channel. The change in the tidal level of the river is quite incredible, as at low tide the boats are stranded amongst a sea of mud, however when the tide comes in the trench is completely filled. The walls that bank the river above are 18th century, and like the Cathedral they are made out of granite.

Before it is joined by the Allen, the Truro River flows down through the quay area of the city, known as Lemon Quay, which we would encounter next.

We entered Lemon Quay, and this area is a great example of how well the Cathedral stands out from different areas of the city. You can also see the 4th tower from this angle, which is a short bell tower with a copper spire on the top on the near side of the main tower. It strikes me as a rather odd feature, it may be a touch of OCD, but I am quite used to most Cathedrals being fairly symmetrical, at least as far as the main standout features go.

We entered Lemon Quay, a large open space which the Truro River seems to run more underneath than through. It is uncovered further through the Quays past Lemon Street, and heads towards the Royal Cornwall Museum on River Street. This area was once a thriving port with the river exposed for the whole length of the quay, and whilst there were still a number of boats moored up on the river, trade had almost dried up (excuse the pun!) and the area was eventually covered over.

One of the main features of the Quay is the Hall for Cornwall, which looks very similar to the City Hall, and has the same number of arches along the exterior. Looking at the building from above, it adjoins directly onto the back of the City Hall, and it soon became obvious that both the City Hall and the Hall for Cornwall are either end of one large building. The Hall for Cornwall section was turned into a large auditorium with regular performances in the 1980’s, which it still holds today.

Outside the Hall is a statue called “The Drummer” which shows a nude man playing a drum stood on top of a large sphere. It was installed in 2011, and sculpted by Tim Shaw.

At the end of the Quay area we found the River again, as we arrived on Lemon Street. The River is located behind the small Public Toilets behind the row of Phone Kiosks. The Kiosks are themselves quite interesting, as they are of the K6 Variant, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880 – 1960, English Architect who also designed Liverpool Cathedral) to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V (1865 – 1936) in 1935. There have been 8 different types of Kiosk through the years but the K6 is the iconic Red Phone Box Design, and thousands still sit on Britain’s streets, including these 4.

Lemon Street is a beautiful area of Truro, and almost every building on both sides of the street for most of its length has listed status. An example is the building which is now a shop called “Hendra Health Store” which inhabits Numbers 8 & 9 Lemon Street, and were built in the early 19th Century. Number 9 is to the right and has kept the 19th Century front it was built with, whilst the left hand side is Number 8, which has an Edwardian frontage. There are flats above both shops, and the next building along is Numbers 6 & 7 Lemon Street, built around the same time as 8 & 9, the major difference being that it was originally a Town House and became shops later on. The actual shop fronts are 20th Century, which may be an indicator of its conversion date.

As Gemma headed off to do a bit of shopping, we ended up back outside the Cathedral, going up the pedestrianised shopping street. Whilst she was in the shops I had a wander down to the cities Library, on Pydar Street. It is named the Passmore Edwards Free Library, after John Passmore Edwards (1823 – 1911, British Journalist) who put funds towards its construction. Designed by Sylvanus Trevail (1851 – 1903, Cornish Architect) it was completed in 1896, and extended by 1899 (again to plans by Trevail).

Truro is an amazing city, and one that we thoroughly enjoyed exploring. Transport wise it is well connected, as the local train station lies on the Cornish Main Line between Penzance further South through to Plymouth across the Tamar and the Royal Albert Bridge which joins the Cornish town of Saltash with the famous Devon city. Aside from connecting the length of Cornwall, trains also run through to London via Plymouth, Totnes and Exeter in Devon, Taunton in Somerset and Reading in Berkshire, as well as a long distance service from Penzance to Scotland via Truro, Devon, Somerset, the West Midlands & Birmingham, Derby, Yorkshire, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh/Glasgow. Local buses serve the city, and the nearest airport is at Newquay, around 20 miles away. Flights are available from here to Ireland and other cities in the UK, as well as Europe.

Truro is a fascinating place, and has some beautiful buildings, pleasant streets and a truly Cornish feel. It was a pleasure to visit, but for us it was time to move on, as our next stop on the way back to Devon was the Cornish town of Fowey…