History

Cathedral Timeline

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:04:00 GMT

1259 St Mary’s Church consecrated by Bishop Bronescombe of Exeter during a tour of Cornwall

1504 St Mary’s church re-built in the Gothic style

1768 St Mary’s church re-built in a Georgian style

1876 The Cornish Diocese of Truro formed. St Mary’s becomes the cathedral church

1880 May 29 Foundation Stones of the cathedral laid by Edward, the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall. Work starts on the cathedral under John Loughborough Pearson.
St Mary’s church closed and replaced by a temporary church. The south aisle becomes incorporated into the new cathedral as St Mary’s aisle

1882 Bishop Benson leaves Truro to become Archbishop of Canterbury

1887 Consecration of the Quire and Transepts by the Prince of Wales/Duke of Cornwall. Building work ceased

1898 Work re-commenced under Frank Pearson

1903 Dedication of the Nave

1904 Main tower and spire completed

1908 Foundation stone of the Old Cathedral School is laid

1910 Dedication of the Western Towers. Effective completion of the cathedral

1935 Dedication of the North door into the North transept

1967 Completion of the Chapter House

1987 Completion of the Cathedral Shop

2002 Refurbishment of the Cathedral Restaurant

2005 125th Anniversary of the laying of the Foundation Stones

2005 Restoration of the West Front

2010 Restoration of the central tower

2015 Re-slating of the roof on the high-level western arm

2017 Re-slating of the roof on the South Nave Aisle, Baptistry and Narthex

2018 The Old Cathedral School re-opens as the Cathedral Office and education centre

Cathedral Story

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:04:00 GMT

The Diocese of Truro was established in 1876 and its first bishop, Bishop Edward White Benson, was consecrated at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1877.

Truro was not the only candidate for the siting of a new cathedral. Lostwithiel had been the home of the Dukes of Cornwall; Launceston had once been the administrative capital of Cornwall, as had Bodmin. St. Germans, the site of the original see of Cornwall, also put forward a claim but was deemed to be too far east. The vicar of St Columb even offered his large church! Eventually, Truro was chosen, and St Mary’s parish church became the new cathedral.

However, St Mary’s was never going to be large enough and planning started for a new cathedral. The leading architect John Loughborough Pearson, who had experience of cathedrals elsewhere, was commissioned to design the new Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Work began in 1880.

The project was ambitious. Truro would be the first Anglican cathedral to be built on a new site since Salisbury Cathedral in 1220. For over 650 years no one had attempted to emulate the great cathedral builders of the medieval era. As well as this, it was initially uncertain if there would be enough money to complete such a project.

The construction of the cathedral actually took thirty years. Foundation stones were laid on 20th May 1880 by the Duke of Cornwall, later King Edward VII, and work started immediately. There was an eleven year pause for further fund-raising between 1887 and 1898, but when work re-commenced things went ahead well. The central tower was finished by 1905 and the building was completed with the opening of the two western towers in 1910.

Today, Truro Cathedral is seen as a triumph of Gothic Revival Architecture and its magnificent spires can be seen soaring above the city’s skyline, and, are at their best when silhouetted by the bright blue Cornish sky.

Nine Lessons and Carols

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:04:00 GMT

The famous Nine Lessons and Carols Service which is held in Anglican churches at Christmas all across the world today was originally devised by the first Bishop of Truro, Bishop Edward White Benson in 1880. It was first conducted in a temporary wooden building as Truro Cathedral was being constructed, and this Christmas service continued to be held in the wooden structure for a further 6 years before the cathedral building was completed.

It is said that the service was created as a response by Bishop Benson to discourage a different festive spirit found in the local Cornish pubs and was influenced by an idea of George Walpole, at the time Succentor of Truro Cathedral, and the future Bishop of Edinburgh. The first Nine Lessons and Carols service was attended by 400 people and it has been held at Truro Cathedral every Christmas ever since. The service has been modified in that time and different pieces of music are chosen each year. In December 2013, Truro Cathedral Choir staged a reconstruction of Bishop Benson's original 1880 Nine Lessons with Carols Service (a CD of this reconstruction, together with a DVD of the 2014 Nine Lessons and Carols service is available in the Cathedral Shop).

Today the service is held twice on the 23 and 24 December; one service with the girl choristers and adult singers, the other with the boy choristers and adult singers. Each has a different musical programme and each is attended by audiences of around 1,000 people.

The service takes us through nine biblical passages from the old and new testaments, interspersing with various carols, hymns and other classical pieces. The first reading is undertaken by a chorister and each reading moves up the cathedral hierarchy ending with the bishop. The first reading sets out mankind's need for a Redeemer – the fall of humanity represented by Adam eating an apple from the tree from which God has commanded him not to eat. The promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus are the subjects for the subsequent readings.

Here at Truro Cathedral we are proud to be the spiritual home of the Nine Lessons and Carols Festival and hope that you can join us for this very special Christmas service.

Stained Glass Windows

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:04:00 GMT

The stained glass is perhaps the cathedral’s crowning glory. It was the largest stained glass project ever executed and has some of the finest Victorian stained glass in the country, produced by the leading company of the time: Clayton and Bell.

Conceived by Bishop Benson and Canon Mason, it adopts a fine late Victorian High Church approach, influenced by the Oxford Movement. The full scheme was subject to various revisions during the building work. Both Benson and Mason continued to be involved even after they had left Truro.

The scheme has three big themes: the Trinity, Biblical stories and the history of the English church. Alongside these are three lesser themes: Cornwall, baptism and St Mary’s aisle.

The rose windows

The greatest windows are the three great rose windows which reflect the Trinity;

God the Father/Creator appears in the great West window which is divided into seven sections for the seven days of creation

Jesus, the Son of God, is at the heart of the North transept rose surrounded by the prophets and his antecedents: Jacob, Isaac, Judah and Abraham, leading through to Mary and Joseph

The Holy Spirit is at the centre of the South window with the twelve apostles around the edge

The biblical stories

The biblical stories are told in and around the quire. The great east windows tell the story of Christ and his Passion.

The lancet windows below the West rose and the upper clerestory (which are very difficult to see in detail) show stories from the Old Testament: Adam and Eve, through to Noah, Elijah and Jonah. The quire transept windows tell the story of Jesus’ early life and ministry.

The history of the church

The third great theme is the portrayal of the history of ‘the Catholic Church, and of the English Branch of it, ranging from the earliest days since Pentecost down to the present day’.

This is in many respects the most unusual sequence, and the theme is quite challenging for a modern audience. There are some interesting inclusions like the medieval artist; why is Joan of Arc depicted?; And who are some of the more obscure individuals and saints who are included, people like Dean Colet, Margaret Godolphin, or Sir John Eliot? The choices reflect the late Victorian sensibilities and the enthusiasms of the two creators, like, for instance, the execution of King Charles I.

However, there is a flow to the sequence that does make sense. The theme starts in the South transept through to the retro-quire and quire. This section begins with St Peter receiving the keys from Christ and ends with St Benedict.

The North transept continues the story with St Piran, St Germanus and St Petroc, through to St Augustine and the conversion of the English, including St Gregory’s famous phrase ‘Not Angles but Angels’.

The nave windows move on to ‘the mediaeval period Church, the Reformation and the missionary labours of modern times, and some leading figures of the latter English Church, poets, apologists, evangelists, missionaries and pastors.

It is in this section that we find people like John Wesley, Charles I and a range of names that are far from being household names today, like John Keble. It is the selection of subjects here which gives the whole a sense of the high Victorian period from which this sequence received its inspiration.

Both Bishop Benson and Canon Mason are included in the final window which brings the story right up to date with the foundation of Truro Cathedral.

The other themes

The other three smaller include the Baptistry, which predictably focuses on baptism with the life and death of St John the Baptist, but it also includes windows following the life of Henry Martyn, a nineteenth century Cornish missionary who travelled to India and Persia. Martyn seems to have been a particular favourite of Canon Mason, one of the first canons of the cathedral. It also includes some Cornish saints like St Constantine and St Winnow.

Cornwall’s industry is included in the west nave windows, which feature mining and fishing through images of miners, fishermen, Newlyn harbour and Dolcoath mine.

And finally, there are the windows in St Mary’s aisle, which has some mid-Victorian windows from the original St Mary’s church on traditional biblical subjects, as well as some medieval fragments.

More information

There is much more detail about the windows in the excellently researched website by Michael Swift, a leading expert on stained glass, who has spent many years as the Diocesan Stained Glass Advisor. Visit website

If would like to book a stained glass windows tour at the cathedral, please visit our tour page for more information.