Christine Parnell - Böcker

The cathedral city of Truro is a major administrative and commercial centre in Cornwall. Historically, it grew in prosperity as an inland port and stannary town, and its Georgian and Victorian buildings demonstrate its wealth in this period. Other industries developed around the area at this time, and the town gained city status.Lost Truro presents a portrait of this corner of Cornwall over the last century to recent decades that has radically changed or disappeared today, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Truro will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.

Truro grew up around its medieval castle, deriving its wealth as an inland port, lying on the confluence of two rivers 9 miles from the sea, and as a stannary town. Tin mining brought further prosperity and the town became a centre for Cornwall’s wealthy gentry. It gained both a cathedral and city status in the Victorian period, although the cathedral was not finished until 1910, and today is one of the most attractive small cities in the country, surrounded by steep valleys on three sides and drawing in many to its cultural and commercial attractions. In Quirky Truro local authors Christine Parnell and Sheila Richardson delve into lesser-known but fascinating tales from Truro’s past. In this book, readers will find stories of a wine merchant who disappeared with the insurance money after his brewhouse and spirit store burnt down, only to reappear later under several aliases before being shot by the army while leading a mob of protestors against the Corn Laws; the bowling green on the quay that had to be raised above the river level; ancient finds beneath a car park; and much more.Quirky Truro celebrates the unusual and often strange history of the city and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the Truro’s history.

Truro has been an important port since the Middle Ages, and its status as a stannary town, allowing it to assay and stamp copper and tin from Cornish mines, also brought prosperity to the town. Wealthy families settled in Truro, benefitting from mining and other industries such as iron-smelting, potteries and tanneries and the town was given city status by Queen Victoria and the foundations laid for a new cathedral. Today it is the administrative and commercial centre for Cornwall. This book explores Truro’s history, including personalities such as Richard Lander, the explorer, and his contemporaries in the cultural hotbed of eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Truro. The Assembly Rooms which once stood in High Cross welcomed Sarah Siddons, General Tom Thumb and regular local entertainer Joseph Emidy who was once a slave. The Truro River has stories to tell, as do the cathedral, churches and chapels, and there are tales of law and order in the city, fires and other emergencies. The authors take the reader down the ‘opes’, alleys and lanes to reveal interesting anecdotes about musical events, clubs and societies, monuments and plaques, gravestones under the pavement and the 106 public houses that once served Truro.With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked-away or disappeared historical buildings and locations, Secret Truro will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this fascinating city in Cornwall.