Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom featuring three spires.[a]
Truro Cathedral
Truro, Cornwall
United Kingdom
The Parish Church of St Mary's, Truro
1887
1880–1910
4
3
76m (crossing), 61m (western)
Truro (since 1876)
Hugh Nelson, Bishop of St. Germans and acting Bishop of Truro [1]
Simon Robinson (dean-designate)
Simon Griffiths
Alan Bashforth
2 vacancies
James Anderson-Besant
Truro Cathedral
29 December 1950
An Act to make provision for the foundation of a Dean and Chapter for the Bishopric of Truro, and for the transfer to the Cathedral Church of Truro of one of the Canonries in the Cathedral Church of Exeter; and for other purposes connected therewith.
41 & 42 Vict. c. 44
8 August 1878
Bells[edit]
A ring of ten bells was cast in 1909 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough: the tenor bell weighs 33cwt-3qr-10lb (3790lb).[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]
Choir[edit]
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.[29][30]
Girl choristers were first admitted to the cathedral choir in 2015.[31] On International Women's Day in 2017 they appeared for the first time in a broadcast of the BBC Radio 3 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.[32] The cathedral's girl choristers were also among those selected to sing at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023.[33]
The choir appeared on the 2019 season of Britain's Got Talent.[34]