VISITOR INFORMATION

Historic Buildings

The Old Assembly Rooms, built 1780, stand on the north side of High Cross and are now occupied by Blewetts the bakers. The facade was built in the classical tradition and the carved busts show William Shakespeare on the right and David Garrick, the actor and producer, on the left. Also on High Cross is the medieval Celtic Cross perched high on a granite pillar. This has been restored to its original position, which was to mark the way for pilgrims and travellers.

The County Library in Truro is in Union Place, off Pydar Street. Designed by architect Sylvanus Trevail this building bears his trademark of featuring three contrasting building materials - granite, elvan and limestone. John Passmore Edwards, born at Blackwater outside Truro, and a local benefactor, financed the project. Son of a local carpenter he became a journalist and then made a fortune as owner of the Echo newspaper in London. He was interested in 'education for the masses' and with a personal motto, 'to do the best for the most' he endowed libraries and institutes in Cornwall and south London.

The Royal Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery is another fine building, situated in River Street. The main building was designed by Philip Sambell in 1845 as the Truro Savings Bank and in 1895 it became Henderson's Mining School. In 1919 it was acquired by the Royal Institution of Cornwall. In 1988 the Baptist church, also designed by Philip Sambell, which occupied the adjacent site, was too, acquired by the Royal Institution of Cornwall. The Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund enabled the construction of a new granite-faced link building in 1998, to provide new shop and foyer, new educational facilities and workshop space and galleries. The museum, which is well worth a visit, features collections that depict Cornish history from the earliest times, the Rashleigh mineral collection, natural history exhibits and paintings, including those by well-known Cornish artist John Opie. There is also a free comprehensive reference library open to the public which specialises in family and local history. The museum is open from 10.00am-5.00pm Monday - Saturday except Bank Holidays. It also has an extensive shop and spacious cafe, which is a popular meeting place and has full disabled facilities.

The Victorian building behind the war memorial in Boscawen Street is on the site of the 14th century Coinage Hall. Tin was produced in the area surrounding Truro from the early 13th century. In 1305 Truro became a stannary town, where smelted tin was assayed before being sold and exported. This process of 'coinage' was so-called because a corner (coin in French) of the ingot was cut off and weighed before the official stamp was given. So twice a year, at Easter and Michaelmas, Truro would be very busy with officials and tinners. Outside the Coinage Hall the heavy ingots would be placed and a stannary court established to deal with any problems or arguments between the tinners. Truro lost its status as a Stannary town in 1838. The Coinage Hall now houses Pizza Express, Charlotte's Tea Rooms and Antique Centre.

The County Court building, the Courts of Justice, have been built on the site of the 12th century Norman Castle, at the top of Castle Street. Designed by award winning architects in the style of the Norman Castle, the courts were opened in 1988, and together with the County Hall and District offices have contributed to the growth of Truro.

Princes House and the Mansion House, both in Princes Street, are both fine examples of the town houses built in Truro in the 18th century. Princes House was built in 1740 for Mr William Lemon, who was twice mayor of Truro. It was designed by Thomas Edwards and the porch is a late 19th century addition by the architect Sylvanus Trevail. The house is now occupied by a firm of solicitors. Thomas Edwards also designed the Mansion House. It was built in 1759 for Thomas Daniell, merchant and businessman. His uncle, Ralph Allen, who owned quarries on Coombe Down in Bath, gave him the Bath stone that was used on the front of the house. These two grand houses were at the centre of fashionable Truro in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Many famous Cornishmen were educated at the Old Truro Grammar School. The building is still in St Mary's Street and the school was founded in 1549. Humphrey Davy, born in Penzance and the inventor of the miners' safety lamp, was educated there, as well as Goldsworthy Gurney who built steam carriages and Jonathan Hornblower who patented the double cylinder engine. Samuel Foote, the famous actor and playwright, whose family owned a large house in Boscawen Street (which later became the Red Lion Hotel), along with the Pencalenick estate just outside Truro, was a pupil in the 18th century.

The City Hall in Boscawen Street houses the Mayor's Parlour, and Truro City Council Offices. It is of 19th century Italianate design and has a fine clock tower, which was given by an anonymous donor after the original clock tower was demolished during a fire in 1914. The building also houses the Truro Tourist Information Centre, where friendly and helpful staff will provide information on local and national attractions, advice on planning excursions and activities together with local and national accommodation booking service, and maps, guides and postcards. The Hall for Cornwall, with an entrance in Back Quay, is a very popular multi-purpose venue for a large variety of entertainment which draws audiences from all over Cornwall.

Walsingham Place could be called 'the jewel in Truro's crown'. Situated just off Victoria Square, Edmund Turner, MP for Truro in 1837 and John Ferris built this Georgian terrace, which is named after Edmund's brother. It is a tranquil oasis in the heart of the busy city.

Lemon Street, built in 1801, was a new road for the ever increasing mail coaches that had great difficulty negotiating the existing steep routes into the town. Plots of land owned by Sir William Lemon were leased for building and the houses, although built by different builders at different times, now form an elegant street where the terraces are said to be the finest example of Georgian architecture west of the city of Bath. Sir William Lemon was a mining magnate and MP for the county. Today the houses are occupied by professional firms, doctors, dentists and banks.