Welcome to the Cornwall Tourism Magazine - Cornwall Tourism Magazine - Truro page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truro in the Civil War and the 17th Century.

 

In the Civil War, Truro supported the Royalist and in 1642, it raised an army to fight for King Charles 1. There was even a Royalist mint established in the town although this was later moved to Exeter. Truro's participation in the war came to an end in 1646 when it was besieged and captured by Sir Thomas Fairfax's Parliamentarian army in 1646 causing King Charles 1 to flee to Falmouth and then escape by ship. Truro's problems didn't end there though because later in the 17th Century, Falmouth was awarded its own charter of self-governence in 1661, which also gave it the right to control its own harbour which seriously affected Truro's prosperity and began a long rivalry between the two towns. This lasted for over 40 years until in 1709 control of the River Fal was between them both. However, Truro did suffer and lost its prominance in the area for a few decades.

 

Truro in the 18th and 19th Century.

 

Truro's loss of prominance in the area didn't last long though because by the late 18th Century, it was prospering again due to improved mining methods which produced a lot more and also raised the prices of tin. In fact by the early 19th Century Truro was the place to be for your average wealthy mine owner and the town saw significant residential development in both Georgian and Victorian times when many of its famous huge townhouses were built and Truro quickly became the centre for the local high society, being known as " the London of Cornwall ". However, things really picked up in the mid to later part in the 19th century when Truro got its own iron smelting works, potteries and tanneries and its port became one of the busiest in the South West at that time. In addition, the railways came to Truro in 1863 and with a direct line to London, its prominence and prosperity really accelerated. In 1876, the town was given a Bishop and in 1877 Queen Victoria granted it City status three years later in 1880 building work started on its Cathedral.

 

 

Truro Cathedral.

 

Truro's Cathedral was designed by architect John Loughborough Pearson in its majestic gothic-revival style and took 30 years to build, from 1880 to 1910. Its impressive spire rises 249 ft above the city. The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on the site of the older St. Mary's Church, consecrated over 600 years earlier which was mostly demolished to make way for the new Cathedral, however, the builders left the early sixteenth-century south aisle which served as the parish church. Pearson's design combines the early English gothic style along with certain French characteristics like its spires and rose windows and its resemblance to Lincoln Cathedral is not entirely coincidental because Pearson was Lincoln's Cathedral architect and the very first Bishop of Truro had previously been Canon Chancellor at Lincoln. Work to restore the Cathedral began in 2002 and continues to this day as the stone used in its decoration ( known as Bath Stone ) has not stood up very well to the salty nature of the air in Truro.

 

 

The railway viaduct.

 

To the north-east of Truro railway station you will see Truro's 95 ft high stone railway viaduct. This viaduct was built in 1904 and replaced the original wooden Carvedras Viaduct built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in around 1859 when the main railway line between Plymouth and Truro first opened. The first viaduct was a mainly wooden structure consisting of timber deck spans supported by wooden bracing structures built on stone and masonry piers. This unusual method of construction substantially reduced the first cost of construction compared to an all-masonry structure, there were in fact 42 different viaducts on this line, but the use of timber, specifically Yellow Pine, dramatically increased the cost of maintenance and virtually everyone of the 42 viaducts required constant maintenance after just a few years of use. In fact it was so expensive to maintain these wooden structures that they began to be replaced by all masonry items from 1870 onwards. Truro current viaduct, finished in 1904, is in fact the longest in Cornwall at over 1,300 ft long with its 16 arches and was one of the last Brunel viaducts to be replaced. You can still see Brunel's original stone support pillars next to the newer viaduct.

 

 

Truro today.

 

Being the only city in Cornwall and also the capital, as you would expect there is a large shopping area in the centre along with a large number of car parks. The city is also surrounded by a number of protected natural areas such as the historic parklands at Pencalenick, and larger areas of ornamental landscape, such as Trelissick Garden and Tregothnan Estate which is further down the Truro River and the area to the south east, which includes Calenick Creek, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Truro also has a large selection of well known stores, lots of smaller shops of all kinds and a number of weekly markets, which reflect its historic market town heritage. Truro also has a large number of restaurants, cafés, bistros and good dining pubs as well as a very popular nightlife scene with its many bars and night clubs and with the Hall for Cornwall, it also has a strong performing arts and entertainment following.

 

 

Truro river and port.

 

Truro gained and maintained in long prominence ( bar a few hiccups ) over the last 9000 years because of its port and river access. Being upstream from Falmouth, the port was very well protected from the storms and wild seas that often hit the south eastern coast of Cornwall and although the main channel of the river is subject to tidal influences, there was a constant flow of ships and boats in and out of the port so Truro was very busy. Falmouth did gain its own prominence in the late 17th Century after the Civil War, however, once mining really took off, Truro was back at the top of the game again because it was physically near to the centre of the mining industry than Falmouth. And the port has constantly evolved and changed over the centuries. For example, In medieval times, there was a Dominican Priory located by the river and the main port was originally located where Victoria Square is today. But in the early 18th Century, the Lemon family, one of the leading merchant families in Truro, built Lemon Quay and the port all changed around again. Unfortunately Lemon Quay is long gone and is now a huge piazza with the same name. Today, Truro Port is mainly a leisure sailing mooring although you do get the odd larger boat come up the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Find the towns in Cornwall - by map.

 

Please use the map to locate the town of your choice and click on the appropriate icon and link which will take you to the relevant towns page where you can find out about its history, what to do and see there, local villages, images and other interesting items and facts. Alternatively, you can use the manual selection section below where we have alphabetically listed most of the major towns in Cornwall in their appropriate region. To use it, just click on a Town name button and the link will take you to its relevant page.

 

Using the map.

 

To locate a town, please put your curser on the map face, left click your mouse and then use it to move a scroll around the map. The towns will all have a small white balloon icon so when you wish to view a town page, left click on the towns icon, and then click on the link that will appear with the towns name on it. You will then be taken to the towns relevant page. You will find the map on all town pages so if you want to look up another town, just locate it on the map and click on the appropriate icon as described here.

 

Map of Cornwall - Click on the balloon icon link to a town and click on the link when it opens.