England 2025- Truro

Truro Cathedral is practically brand new when you compare it to the ancient monuments in other parts of England. Built between 1880 and 1910, Cornwall had no need for a large Anglican center before that time. Historically Cornwall is deeply rooted in early Celtic Christianity, which set themselves apart from their neighboring counties. They felt no need to connect themselves to the church in that way. Add into that equation very small towns that only required a parish church and you have your answer to why Cornwall has one and only one cathedral in the entire county. And a “modern” one at that. 

Truro cathedral holds the distinction of being the first Anglican cathedral built on a new site in England since 1220. That’s 660 years! The cathedral is built in the gothic revival style, standing on the site of a 16th century church which had to be demolished due to its deteriorating state, Truro is much grander than the previous building. It was the cathedral which drew us to Truro on our first full day in Cornwall. 

Truro is Cornwall’s only city. With a population of 21,000 it’s a small one which means it’s easy to navigate and not in the least bit overwhelming. It rose to prominence due to the busy inland port where trade competed with tin and copper mining for top economic growth. Once the home to a medieval castle, it quickly fell into disrepair vanishing from the site about a century after it was built. Gone too is the medieval friary which had completely disappeared by the late 1700’s. It’s hard to say if it is the salty maritime air or the decline of wealth and power that saw these buildings become ruins and eventually reduced to fragments and rubble under later structures. So much of what are now the “old” parts of Truro (and probably Cornwall as a whole) hale from the Georgian and Victorian era when the price of tin increased and brought prosperity back to the area. This new prosperity attracted wealthy business owners and a new direct rail line from London’s Paddington station to Truro prompted the need and want for grand  houses and a desire to be recognized as a separate diocese from Exeter. Hence the construction of Truro Cathedral began. 

We arrived just before lunchtime but had no appetite due to jet lag. What we wanted was a hot beverage. Preferably of the bottomless variety found at a Wetherspoons.  By coincidence we had parked the car fairly close to the restaurant making it a quick walk and only one corner turned.  We found a table near the outdoor seating and settled in to order. And you know what? We changed our minds. Why, you might ask? I don’t remember! This is one of the disadvantages to waiting so long to write these blog posts! My perimenopausal brain has forgotten why we decided to hop down off of our stools, leave the menu and unordered drinks behind and make our way down a narrow alley to the 19th century cathedral. 

As we approached from Cathedral Lane the first thing we saw were the spires. In particular the copper plated bell tower that has patina-ed to that lovely and recognizable green. I couldn’t find anything to indicate why only one spire is plated in copper, but that lone spire just adds to the beauty. 

Most (but not all!) cathedrals in England charge a suggested donation to enter. Does this mean you can do less? Yes. But I always give the suggested amount, as the upkeep of these historic structures is a very expensive undertaking and I for one want myself and future generations to be able to enjoy them for years to come. 

This was our first and also our only cathedral of the trip. That’s quite unusual for us but this trip was mostly a vacation in name only- it was really a trip of family obligations. Once we left Cornwall we entered the land of sitting on couches, drinking tea, making small talk until there’s nothing left to say and exploring places we had been to before but this time with better weather. I’m not complaining, I’m genuinely happy just to be in England but this explains why we got to gaze at only one marvelously built vaulted ceiling this time around. 

If you ever have the chance to enter a European cathedral I encourage you to look up immediately. I’ve never seen a cathedral ceiling that I wasn’t massively impressed by. Made primarily from Cornish marble, the gothic vaulting has a pleasing honey comb hue. Soaring high above your head you really have to crane your next back to fully take it all in. 

 

The cathedral had to undergo renovations in the first decade of the 2000’s. Some of this was due to the fact that Bath stone was used. This stone has not stood up well to the salt and sand of the Cornish maritime climate. Lucky for us it appears the renovations are long complete making the cathedral look beautiful without the necessary eyesore of scaffolding. 

Often the best part of exploring a cathedral are the smaller chapels, aisles, and transepts that line the central and grand aisle. Here is where you find the monuments, the burials, carvings and usually a unique artifact. Two things stuck out to me in Truro Cathedral. The first was the early 17th century alabaster and marble memorial to John and Phillipa Robartes in the North Transept. I am a sucker for an effigy. It’s not from morbid curiosity but the fact that they are contemporary representations of the people buried beneath. It’s a tangible link to the past. It’s kind of an obsession of mine. I have a great need to feel connected to the people of the past. I want to know what they looked like, how they dressed, and perhaps even get a sense of their personalities. 

John Robartes is depicted reading a book, while his wife Phillipa is reclining in what is called the “toothache” position. The description board describes Phillipa’s expression as one of boredom, and that does appear to be true. Let’s hope for her sake she’s not spending an eternity listening to her husband prattle on from the book he’s reading. Hopefully we’re misinterpreting her expression of serenity as one of boredom. 

You can get quite close to the memorial, but of course not touch it. I’m grateful to have been able to capture the detail of Phillipa’s face, the crisp cartwheel of her ruff collar, and the meticulous pleats of her skirts. Though faded from 400 years of exposure you can still see the once vivid colors the effigies were painted with. Phillipa’s blue eyes and rosie cheeks are still evident. 

The Robartes memorial. John died 1614, Phillipa died 1603

Detail of Phillipa Robartes

One of the rose windows

Moving on to the other thing that stood out to me, this is also a memorial of sorts as well. Located in the south-east corner of the cathedral is what’s left of St Mary’s Church now called St Mary’s Aisle. This parish church dates from the early 1500’s, on the site of an even earlier church from 1259. St Mary’s fell into disrepair and was due to be totally demolished to make way for the new cathedral. We owe the architect, John Loughborough Pearson a debt of gratitude. It was his idea to save part of the historic church and incorporate it into the new structure. It is now a memorial to the last surviving origins of the parish church. There is something quite special about stepping into this part of the cathedral. Parts of the original are dotted throughout the “modern” cathedral- like the Robartes memorial mentioned before- but St Mary’s Aisle is where you really feel the history. Using the original timbers and stone, the first thing you will notice when you look up is the simple barrel vaulted ceiling, which is so different from the gothic ceiling right next door. St Mary’s Aisle also contains an organ from 1750, the original wooden pulpit and the 17th Century kneeling effigy statues of John and Christabel Michell. Fortunately St Mary’s Aisle underwent much needed renovations in the last few years meaning many future generations can come and connect to the old past of the church.

St Mary’s Church c. 1870, 10 years before it was mostly demolished 

St Mary’s Aisle. 

John and Christabel Michell

John Michell died 1620

Christabel Michell died 1622

Did I say two things stuck out? Well,I actually meant to say three. The last thing that caught my attention was an interesting feature to one of the stained glass windows above the main altar. If you look up and ahead you will notice one small square of blue glass that is different to all of the others in the window. This is the only damage the cathedral received during WWII. A bullet struck the glass pane and a hasty temporary repair has turned into a permanent fixture that casts a lone blue orb on the floor when the light hits just right. You can’t help but see it and in a way bear witness to another small piece of history the building has seen. 

The lone light blue square of glass

We left the cathedral and found ourselves wandering down Lemon Street, which is one of the main shopping streets in the city. There is always something you forget when traveling or in my case didn’t check before we left. I always have my travel toiletries bag packed and ready for any trip.  It has mini versions of everything I need for hair, skin and grooming. I took a quick glance in it before we left but I failed to actually check how full some of the items were. This is how I overlooked the fact that I only had enough make up remover for two days. If you know me, then you know I’m a stickler for my skincare routine. I can’t just use any old cleanser or makeup remover. I had been on the hunt for something to replace what I brought and Truro was my first real opportunity to find something. It was just sheer luck that I happened to look in the window of Hendras of Truro as we walked by. Not only did they have something to fill the gap they had exactly what I usually use! I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this. I left my husband standing on the street and immediately went in. I’m bringing this up because I proceeded to have one of the loveliest interactions I’ve ever had in England. 

I walked in and was immediately greeted by a very kind faced young woman. She led to me to exactly what I was looking for and we preceded to have a short but meaningful interaction. If I had just moved to Truro she would have become my first friend. I recognized a kindred spirit. It felt so good to be so far from home and make a genuine connection with someone. By the end of our interaction we were giggling like we already shared an inside joke. I felt quite buoyed by that interaction, grateful that I left there with the knowledge that human connection can happen anywhere. And thus it stuck in my mind as something I didn’t want to forget. 

We had one snafu that also made Truro unforgettable. It was time for us to make our way back to the car. Enter my middle aged bladder, which was once compared to that of a camel but now required frequent bathroom trips. I have gotten into the habit of purposely dehydrating myself on vacations so that I am not constantly in search of a restroom when we’re out and about. But alas, nature still calls and now was one of those moments. Hindsight being what it is, we should have run back into the Wetherspoons that we briefly visited, but instead we headed for the department store that our car was conveniently parked next to. Back in the states this is a sound option. You will always find a public restroom in a department store. We walked absolutely everywhere in that store, even almost entering a back, employee only space that we mistook for where we needed to go. We went up some stairs, down some stairs and ultimately found it much to my relief.

We then had a fight with a broken parking kiosk which had more than just us stumped. The line grew longer and longer behind us before we gave up and asked the people behind us if we were doing something wrong. They proceeded to also try to get it to work and couldn’t. By this point there was about 10 of us waiting on an employee to come and help, when my husband and I decided to hop in the elevator and try another kiosk on a different floor. It worked first try. This freed us from the confines of the multi-story car park and got us back on the road to our next destination.