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| Truro Cathedral | |
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| Basic information | |
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| Location | Truro |
| Full name | Cathedral Church of St Mary |
| County | Cornwall |
| Country | England |
| Ecclesiastical information | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Tradition | High Church |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Truro |
| Diocese created | 1876 |
| Dean | The Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick |
| Precentor | The Revd Canon Perran Gay |
| Canons | The Revd Canon R C Bush The Revd Canon P C Lambert The Revd Canon P A A Walker |
| Director of Music |
Christopher Gray |
| Organist | Luke Bond |
| Website | www.trurocathedral.org.uk |
| Building information | |
| Dates built | 1880-1910 |
| Year consecrated | 1887 |
| Architect(s) | J.L. Pearson |
| Architectural style | Gothic revival |
| Towers | 3 |
| Spires | 3 |
| Spire height(s) | 76m (crossing), 61m (western) |
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was the first new cathedral to be built in Britain since the golden age of cathedral building in the Middle Ages. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during the period, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires.1
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History
Construction began in 1880 on the site of the sixteenth-century parish church (St Mary the Virgin) to a design by the architect John Loughborough Pearson, a leading figure of the 19th century Gothic Revival. The design combines the early English style with certain French characteristics, chiefly spires and rose windows. Truro's resemblance to Lincoln Cathedral is not coincidental. Pearson had been appointed as Lincoln's Cathedral Architect and the first Bishop of Truro, Edward Benson, had previously been Canon Chancellor at Lincoln. The central tower and spire stands 250 feet (76 m) tall, while the western towers reach to 200 feet (61 m).
An original aisle of St Mary's church is still contained within the south-east corner of the cathedral and still functions as the city centre's parish church. Because the Cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, there is no Lady Chapel, but there is a Jesus Chapel. Truro has a further unusual feature – a slight bend in its plan: because the cathedral is situated in the heart of the city there was little room with houses and shops packed closely about on all sides. In order to accommodate the cathedral it was necessary to bend the building six feet northward.
There was little public support in Cornwall for the building of an Anglican Cathedral. During thirty years of lobbying by a small pro-cathedral cabal, the two petitions circulated raised only token support. The first in 1859 received only 1,433 signatures and a second in 1875 raised 2,064 signatures, out of a Cornish population of 362,343. When Disraeli swept to power the Anglican agenda was approved without reservation but as soon as approval was given, mass protests started in the Duchy and packed anti-Cathedral meetings, backed by the local press, were held the length and breadth of Cornwall. At the stone-laying ceremony when the building was finally started, the Duke of Cornwall had to be protected by 280 armed personal bodyguards, 2800 soldiers and 600 rifle carrying Freemasons.2
Two foundation stones were laid in 1880 and the first section of the cathedral was consecrated in 1887. The central tower was completed by 1905 and the building was completed with the opening of the two western towers in 1910. Pearson died in 1897 and the work of his architectural practice was continued by his son, Frank.
The Cathedral attracts over 200,000 visitors a year and was the location for the first service of Nine Lessons and Carols, devised by Bishop Edward White Benson for Christmas Eve, 1880. In 2002 the East End was completely renovated and restored with some of the ornate Bath stone replaced with harder wearing Syerford stone. In 2005 the West Front was restored similarly. Both projects were supervised by MRDA Architects of London, the Cathedral architects. The Cathedral has a major restoration project to undertake on the central tower which will involve a fundraising campaign being launched in 2009.
Organs
A fine new organ of four manuals and forty-five stops built by Henry Willis was installed in 1887, since when it has seen very little alteration. One of many built to a standard design, the combination of its superb voicing and the Cathedral's fine acoustics have given it a reputation as one of the finest organs in the world. More of its history can be seen on its page on the Cathedral website, while its specification can be seen on its entry on the National Pipe Organ Register.
The other main organ in the Cathedral is a two-manual instrument in the St Mary's Aisle, the sole remnant of the former parish church. It was originally built by Renatus Harris and was installed in Truro in 1750 by John Byfield [1]. It was re-installed in the temporary church in 1880, but was significantly rebuilt and reduced in size in 1887 for installation in its current location [2]. There is also a four-stop continuo organ by Kenneth Tickell [3].
Organists
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Photo gallery
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The Cathedral seen from the South-West |
 The Cathedral seen from the East in 1913 |
 The Cathedral in 1905, before completion of the central tower. The former south aisle of the old church (St Mary's Aisle) can be seen in the foreground. |
 The Cathedral seen from the South-East. The St Mary's Aisle can be seen in the foreground, plus the tower with which Pearson provided it. |
 The West Front looking across High Cross |
 The West front |
 The Cathedral seen over Truro's rooftops |
See also
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- List of topics related to Cornwall
- Bishop of Truro
- Truro
- Edward White Benson
References
- ^ The other two being Lichfield Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal).
- ^ Scat t’Larrups? 15 May 2008 - John Angarrack
- ^ G. R. S. of Elgar's Enigma Variations
- ^ Cathedral News - Truro Cathedral
External links
- Truro Cathedral official website
- The specification of the Willis organ on the National Pipe Organ Register
- Truro Cathedral fullscreen VR panoramas
- Flickr images tagged Truro Cathedral
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 November 2008, at 17:48.
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