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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

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.

8 August 1878

— Simon Robinson (interim since October 2022, announced as permanent dean 17 August 2023) to be installed in Autumn 2023.[14]

Dean

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 of Tresillian and Penkevil and rural dean of Powder[15]

priest-in-charge

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]

List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom

List of topics related to Cornwall

List of new ecclesiastical buildings by J. L. Pearson

Cooper, Sydney, Canon of Truro (1925) "The Restoration of the Cornish Bishopric". In: Cornish Church Guide. Truro: Blackford; pp. 30–50

Henderson, Charles (1925) "Truro St Mary V." In: Cornish Church Guide. Truro: Blackford; pp. 209–10

.

"Truro Cathedral official website"

. National Pipe Organ Register.

"The specification of the Willis organ"