The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

cathedral in the city of

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

design by

John Loughborough Pearson John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficie ...

on the site of the parish church of St Mary.

History and description

The

Diocese of Truro The Diocese of Truro (established 1876) is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury which covers Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and a small part of Devon. The bishop's seat is at Truro Cathedral. Geography and history The d ...

was established in December 1876, and its first bishop, Edward White Benson, was consecrated on 25 April 1877 at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. Construction began in 1880 to a design by the leading

architect

. Truro was the first Anglican cathedral to be built on a new site in England since

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

in 1220. It was built on the site of the 16th-century parish church of St Mary the Virgin, a building in the Perpendicular style with a spire tall. The final services in St Mary's were held on Sunday 3 October 1880 and the church was demolished that month, leaving only the south aisle, which was retained to serve as the parish church. From 24 October 1880 until 1887 a temporary wooden building on an adjacent site served as the cathedral. The seats were free and unappropriated, accommodated fewer than 400 people and were extremely hot in summer and cold in winter. It was in this building that Benson introduced the new evening service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve, 1880. The choir and transepts were complete by October 1887. The service of consecration took place on 3 November, performed by E. W. Benson, by then Archbishop of Canterbury. His successor as Bishop of Truro, George Wilkinson, and twenty other bishops were also present, together with civic representatives and diocesan clergy, and about 2,000 other people. The central tower was finished by 1905 and the building was completed with the opening of the two western towers in 1910. J. L. Pearson died in 1897 and his son Frank took over the project. Frank Loughborough Pearson's other works include St Matthew's, Auckland in New Zealand. Truro Cathedral 7

Pearson's design combines the Early English style with certain French characteristics, chiefly spires and rose windows. Its resemblance to

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

is not coincidental; Pearson had been appointed as Lincoln Cathedral's architect and the first Bishop of Truro, Edward Benson, had previously been Canon Chancellor at Lincoln. The central tower and spire stands tall, while the western towers reach to . Four kinds of stone were used: Mabe granite for the exterior, and St Stephen's granite for the interior, with dressings and shafts of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and Polyphant stone. The spires and turret roofs are of stone, except for a copper spire over the bell tower at west end of St Mary's Aisle. The other roofs are of slate. The cathedral is vaulted throughout. Nathaniel Hitch was responsible for the decorative sculpture, including the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

. The original south aisle of St Mary's Church survives, incorporated into the south-east corner of the cathedral and known as St Mary's Aisle. It still functions as the city centre's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. Three brasses were described by Edwin Dunkin in 1882: those of Cuthbert Sydnam (1630), Thomas Hasell (1567) and George Fitzpen, rector of the parish. As the cathedral is dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, it has no

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

. A Jesus Chapel and the Chapel of Unity and Peace are reserved for quiet and prayer throughout the day. There was no

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

until 1967, when the opportunity to enlarge the building on the south-east arose. The architect of the new building was John Taylor. Upon the foundation of Truro Cathedral, Bishop Benson was authorised to establish 24 honorary canonries. In 1878 a new act of Parliament authorised the bishop to establish residentiary canonries. In 1882 an existing canonry was transferred to Truro from Exeter whose income enabled the provision of two canonries at Truro. In 1906 the office of sub-dean was endowed, but the position of dean was still held by the bishop, at least until 1925. This remained the case until it became possible to fund the office of dean. The Victorian acts of Parliament which apply to the cathedral are the Bishopric of Truro Act 1876 ( 39 & 40 Vict. c. 54), the ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. 44), and the Truro Bishopric and Chapter Acts Amendment Act 1887 ( 50 & 51 Vict. c. 12). Preaching duties in the cathedral are shared out among the bishop, residentiary canons and honorary canons. The

Royal Maundy Royal Maundy () is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver co ...

Service was held in the cathedral in 1994 when Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

presented 134

Cornish people Cornish people or the Cornish (, ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which (like the Welsh people, Welsh and Breton people, Bretons) can trace its roots to ...

with the traditional Maundy money.

Restoration

In 2002 the cathedral embarked on what was hoped to be a fifteen-year project to restore the east end, the west front and the central tower and spire. Each of the projects would be undertaken as funds allowed. The east end restoration repaired stonework and damage to the iron work on the stained glass windows. From 2004, a year-long project saw the restoration of the massive west front and towers. In 2009 and 2010 work on the central tower and spire began. Restoration work is being carried out by W. R. Bedford; Stuart Aston, managing director, said that the problem is the Bath Stone used on the more decorative areas of the cathedral, has not stood up well to the salts and sand in the maritime climate of Cornwall. Erosion of the stonework has left much of the exposed stonework in such a damaged condition that it resembles honeycomb. Funding for the restoration of the tower and spire has been partly met by grants from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, Friends of Truro Cathedral, the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, the Tanner Trust, the cathedral itself and by public subscription. The "Save Our Spire" campaign has raised nearly £50,000 towards the cost.

Governance

The cathedral is governed by a three-tier structure as set out in the Cathedral Measure and Statutes. The chapter (comprising the dean, three residentiary canons and three chapter canons), the cathedral council and the college of canons.

Dean and chapter

As of 3 October 2022: * Dean — Simon Robinson (interim since October 2022, announced as permanent dean 17 August 2023) to be installed in Autumn 2023. *Canon chancellor — Alan Bashforth (since 2014 installation) *Canon precentor — Simon Griffiths (since 2016 installation) *Canon missioner — vacant since 2014 *Diocesan canon — vacant since April 2020; Barley was canon pastor and priest-in-charge of Tresillian and Penkevil and

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

of Powder

Organs

The Father Willis organ of 1887 is widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in the country. "It is not easy, even today, to think how the magnificence of the Willis organ in Truro Cathedral could be improved" wrote W. L. Sumner in his 1952 book ''The Organ''. It was built in 1887 in London and arrived in Cornwall by boat. It has an almost identical specification to the organ he built a year earlier for the then parish church of St Michael, Coventry (later Coventry Cathedral). Both instruments have the standard Willis hallmarks—tierce mixtures on Great and Swell, characterful gedackts on the Choir, and a small but telling pedal division. Apart from the addition of the electric blower in the 1920s, no major work was done until 1963, when the grandson of the original builder carried out a conservative restoration, at a cost of some £17,000. Before this time, the organ console was situated high up within the main case of the instrument, necessitating a walk of two or three minutes up a spiral staircase in the north transept. The action was a mixture of Barker lever, pneumatic and tracker. There were very few playing aids and contact between the organist and choir, some below, would have been almost impossible. In 1963, the organ committee decided to keep the original tonal scheme and voicing, and move the console over on to the south side in a new gallery placed above the choir stalls to a design by the architect John Phillips. Here the organist can hear the instrument properly, and maintain close contact with the choir. The other main organ in the cathedral is a two-manual instrument in 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. 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. There is also a four-stop continuo organ by Kenneth Tickell. In 2012, Tim Rice backed the 125-year anniversary appeal to support Truro Cathedral's choir and music.

Organists

;Organist and Master of the Choristers * 1876 William Mitchell * 1881 George Robertson Sinclair (later organist of Hereford Cathedral: the ''G. R. S.'' of

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

) * 1890 Mark James Monk * 1920 Hubert Stanley Middleton (later organist of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

) * 1926

John Dykes Bower Sir John Dykes Bower (13 August 190529 May 1981) was an English cathedral organist who served in Truro Cathedral, Durham Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral. Background Bower was born in Gloucester into a musical family, a descendant of the hymn ...

(afterwards organist of New College Oxford;

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

; and

; knighted 1968) * 1929 Guillaume Ormond * 1971 John Charles Winter (later Organist Emeritus) * 1989 David Briggs (later organist of

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

and currently artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. * 1994 Andrew Nethsingha (currently director of music at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

) * 2002 Robert Sharpe (currently director of music at York Minster) * 2008 Christopher Gray (currently director of music at St. John's College, Cambridge) * 2023 James Anderson-Besant ;Assistant Organists * Ivor Atkins 1885–1886 (later assistant organist of Hereford Cathedral and organist of Worcester Cathedral; knighted 1921) *Frederick C. Thomas until 1896 *Frederick Rowland Tims 1902–1907 (later organist of Croydon Minster) *William Stanley Sutton 1907–1911 *Mr Hall 1911 *Donald Behenna * Gerald Hocken Knight 1922–1926 (later organist of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

and Director of the Royal School of Church Music) *Arthur William Baines 1933-1938 (afterwards organist and director of music at King's College, Taunton) *Robert Strong ca. 1948 * John Charles Winter 1950 – 1971 (later Organist and Organist Emeritus) *Henry Doughty 1971–1991 *Simon Morley 1991–2000 (currently organist and director of music at St John's Episcopal Church, Tampa, Florida) * Christopher Gray 2000–2008 (later Organist) * Luke Bond 2008–2017 (currently assistant director of music of

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

) *Joseph Wicks 2017–2019 *Michael Butterfield 2019-2020 (currently organist of

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

) *Andrew Wyatt 2020– ;Organ Scholars * Luke Bond 1998–1999 (later Assistant Organist 2008–2017) *Christopher Teel 1999–2000 (currently director of music at Christ The Servant Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas) *Andrew Senn 2000–2001 (currently director of music at The First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and organist for Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania) *Nicholas Wearne 2001–2002 (later assistant organist at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) and

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

, London) *Michael Phillips 2002 (later director of music and organist at St Luke's Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas, currently organist at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas) *Tom Wilkinson 2003–2004 (currently organist at

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

) *Claire Cousens 2004–2005 *Tom Little 2005–2006 (currently director of music at

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...

) *David Moore 2006–2007 (later assistant director of music at St John-at-Hampstead Parish Church, London) *Shiloh Roby 2007–2008 (later organ scholar of

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...

, currently associate director of music at Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati) *Joshua Hales 2008–2009 (later organ scholar at Exeter College, Oxford and

, later still assistant director of music at Sheffield Cathedral) *Donald Hunt 2009–2010 (currently assistant organist at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal)) *Sachin Gunga 2010–2011 (currently sub-organist at Portsmouth Cathedral) *Edward Symington 2011–2012 (afterwards organ scholar at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

) *Harry Meehan 2012–2013 (afterwards organ scholar at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

and later assistant organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand) *Rachel Mahon 2013–2014 (currently director of music at Coventry Cathedral) *James Orford 2014–2015 (later organ scholar at

, organist and assistant director of music at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, currently organist of

) *Joseph O’Berry 2015–2016 (currently assistant director of music at the Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness, Denver, Colorado) *Käthe Wright Kaufman 2016–2017 (later organ scholar at

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...

, currently associate director of music and worship arts at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and Chapel Organist at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University campus, Atlanta, Georgia) *William Fairbairn 2017–2018 (currently assistant director of music at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

, London) *Carolyn Craig 2018–2019 (currently assistant director of music at Wells Cathedral) *Manuel Piazza 2019–2020 (currently assistant director of music at St. Thomas's Anglican Church (Toronto) Canada) *Alden Wright 2021–2022 (currently director of music at Christ Episcopal Church of Pittsford, NY) *Tom Dilley 2022–2023 *Jeremiah Mead 2023–2024

Bells

A ring of ten bells was cast in 1909 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough: the tenor bell weighs 33 cwt-3qr-10lb (3790lb). Four further bells, also cast by Taylor, were installed in 2011: two completing the original ring to twelve, and two smaller ones to give the option of a lighter sound. In addition there are six bells in the Green Tower, previously in St Mary's Parish Church, of which five form a chiming peal. A planned great bourdon bell for the south-west tower was never made.

Choir

Truro Cathedral has had an unbroken choral tradition dating from 1876. The present-day choir has twelve adult singers who are either lay vicars or choral scholars, accompanied by either eighteen boy choristers or eighteen girl choristers. After the closure of Truro Cathedral School in 1982, the cathedral no longer has a dedicated cathedral school. Instead, the choristers are awarded bursaries to attend Truro School. Girl choristers were first admitted to the cathedral choir in 2015. On

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

in 2017 they appeared for the first time in a broadcast of the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

programme '' Choral Evensong''. The service included the first performance of two new works, namely a set of canticles by Dobrinka Tabakova and a set of responses by Sasha Johnson-Manning. The cathedral's girl choristers were also among those selected to sing at the

coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

in 2023. The choir appeared on the 2019 season of '' Britain's Got Talent''.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 20th-century Church of England church buildings Anglican cathedrals in England Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Cornwall Christianity in Cornwall Churches completed in 1910 Church of England church buildings in Cornwall

Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Cornwall Grade I listed cathedrals Grade I listed churches in Cornwall John Loughborough Pearson buildings Truro 19th-century church buildings in England