Truro Cathedral
Truro Cathedral | ||
---|---|---|
Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary | ||
Canon(s) 2 vacancies | | |
Laity | ||
Director of music | James Anderson-Besant | |
Listed Building – Grade I | ||
Official name | Truro Cathedral | |
Designated | 29 December 1950 | |
Reference no. | 1205377 |
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a
History and description
The Diocese of Truro was established in December 1876, and its first bishop, Edward White Benson, was consecrated on 25 April 1877 at St Paul's Cathedral.[2]
Construction began in 1880 to a design by the leading
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.[6] 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.
Pearson's design combines the
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
Truro Chapter Act 1878 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 8 August 1878 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
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 Royal Maundy Service was held in the cathedral in 1994 when Queen Elizabeth II presented 134 Cornish people with the traditional Maundy money.[12]
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
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:[13]
- Dean — Simon Robinson (interim since October 2022, announced as permanent dean 17 August 2023) to be installed in Autumn 2023.[14]
- 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 Powder[15]
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 40 feet (12 m) 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.[16] 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.[17] There is also a four-stop continuo organ by Kenneth Tickell.[18]
In 2012, Tim Rice backed the 125-year anniversary appeal to support Truro Cathedral's choir and music.[19]
Organists
- Organist and Master of the Choristers
- 1876 William Mitchell
- 1881 Elgar's Enigma Variations)
- 1890 Mark James Monk[20]
- 1920 Hubert Stanley Middleton (later organist of Ely Cathedral and Trinity College, Cambridge)
- 1926 John Dykes Bower[21]
- 1929 Guillaume Ormond
- 1971 John Charles Winter (later Organist Emeritus)
- 1989 David Briggs (later organist of Gloucester Cathedral)
- 1994 Andrew Nethsingha (currently director of music at Westminster Abbey)
- 2002 Robert Sharpe (currently director of music at York Minster)
- 2008 St. John's College, Cambridge)
- 2023 James Anderson-Besant
- Assistant Organists
- Ivor Atkins 1885–1886
- Frederick Rowland Tims 1902–1907[23]
- William Stanley Sutton 1907–1911[24]
- Mr Hall 1911
- Donald Behenna
- Gerald Hocken Knight1922–1926
- Arthur William Baines
- John Charles Winter 1950 – 1971 (later Organist and Organist Emeritus)
- Henry Doughty 1971–1991
- Simon Morley 1991–2000
- Christopher Gray 2000–2008
- Luke Bond 2008–2017 (currently assistant director of music of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle)
- Joseph Wicks 2017–2019
- Andrew Wyatt 2019–
- Organ Scholars
- Luke Bond 1998–1999 (later Assistant Organist 2008–2017)
- Christopher Teel 1999–2000
- Andrew Senn 2000–2001
- Nicholas Wearne 2001–2002 (later Assistant Organist at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh)
- Michael Phillips 2002 (later director of music and organist at St Luke's Episcopal Church, Dallas, currently Organist at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, U.S.A.)
- Tom Wilkinson 2003–2004 (currently Organist at University of St Andrews)
- Claire Cousens 2004–2005
- Tom Little 2005–2006
- David Moore 2006–2007 (later assistant director of music at Hampstead Parish Church, London)
- Shiloh Roby 2007–2008 (later organ scholar of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin)
- Joshua Hales 2008–2009 (later organ scholar at Exeter College, Oxford)
- Donald Hunt 2009–2010 (currently assistant organist at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh)
- Sachin Gunga 2010–2011 (currently Sub-Organist at Portsmouth Cathedral)
- Edward Symington 2011–2012 (afterwards organ scholar at Westminster Cathedral)
- Harry Meehan 2012–2013 (afterwards organ scholar at The Queen's College, Oxford)
- Rachel Mahon 2013–2014 (currently Director of Music at Coventry Cathedral)
- James Orford 2014–2015 (later organ scholar at St Paul's Cathedral)
- Joseph O’Berry 2015–2016
- Käthe Wright Kaufman 2016–2017
- William Fairbairn 2017–2018
- Carolyn Craig 2018–2019
- Manuel Piazza 2019–2020
- Alden Wright 2021–2022
- 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 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
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.
The choir appeared on the 2019 season of Britain's Got Talent.[citation needed]
See also
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- List of topics related to Cornwall
- List of new ecclesiastical buildings by J. L. Pearson
Notes
- ^ The other two being Lichfield Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. Lincoln Cathedral too had three spires, originally, but the centre spire collapsed in 1549.
References
- ^ "Who we are". Truro Diocese. 30 October 2023.
- ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 26 December 2016 – via UK Press Online archives.
- ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus; Enid Radcliffe (1970). Cornwall. p. 234.
- ^ "Closing Services In The Old Parish Church Of St Mary, Truro, The Pro-Cathedral". The Cornishman. No. 118. 14 October 1880. p. 5.
- ^ Brown, H. M. (1976) A Century for Cornwall. Truro: Blackford; pp. 32–33, 38
- ^ Brown (1976); pp. 33, 43
- ^ Historic England. "Truro Cathedral (1205377)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-14-071001-4.
- ^ Cooper, Canon (chancellor) "The restoration of the Cornish bishopric", in:The Cornish Church Guide. Truro: Blackford, 1925; pp. 30–50 (the bishop was still dean in 1925)
- ^ The Cornish Church Guide Truro: Blackford, 1925, p. 48
- ^ The Cornish Church Guide. Truro: Blackford, pp. 48–49
- ^ "Mary Ann Winn 1925–2006". St Tudy (parish website). Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ Truro Cathedral — Governance & Chapter Archived 1 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 1 January 2021)
- ^ "Ellen and Lynda".
- ^ "New Dean of Truro Announced".
- ^ "Organ of St Mary's Truro". Cambridge University.
- ^ "Organ of St Mary's Truro". Cambridge University.
- ^ "Organ of St Mary's Truro". Cambridge University.
- ^ "Sir Tim Rice supports Truro Cathedral's choir". BBC News Cornwall. 28 November 2012.
- ^ Cornishman; Wednesday 28 April 1920
- ^ Scholes, Percy A. (1970) The Oxford Companion to Music, 10th ed. London: Oxford U.P.; p. 123b (afterwards organist of New College Oxford; Durham Cathedral; and St Paul's Cathedral; knighted 1968)
- ^ "Cathedral News". Dean and Chapter of Truro. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005.
- ^ Thornsby, Frederick W., ed. (1912) Dictionary of Organs and Organists. Bournemouth: Logan; p. 339
- ^ Thornsby (1912); p. 336
- ^ Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. 2000. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Truro Cathedral bells ring again". BBC News. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ Dove, R. H. (1982). A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain and Ringing Peals of the World (6th ed.). Aldershot: Viggers; p. 111.
- ^ Brown, H. M. (1976) A Century for Cornwall. Truro: Blackford; p. 54
- ^ "Music: Truro Cathedral Choir". trurocathedral.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2004.
- ^ "Girl Choristers for Truro Cathedral Choir". Diocese of Truro. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "First girl choristers for Truro Cathedral". BBC. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "BBC Radio 3 – Choral Evensong, Truro Cathedral on International Women's Day". Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ Royal Family, "New music commissions for the coronation service at Westminster Abbey", 17 April 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
Further reading
- 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
External links
- "Truro Cathedral official website".
- "The specification of the Willis organ". National Pipe Organ Register.