Truro

Truro is the only city in Cornwall, having grown from a small river port into the Gothic county capital. Its name is thought to derive from the Cornish Tri-veru, meaning «three rivers»: the Kenwyn, the Allen and the Truro converge here to form the Fal estuary. The settlement was first mentioned in the 12th century as a trading port, and in 1170 it received a royal charter. For centuries Truro thrived on tin mining and fishing, its narrow streets filled with merchants trading in fish and local granite.

The 19th-century Industrial Revolution brought the city new prominence: Truro became the financial and administrative hub of the Cornish mining industry. In 1889 the Cornwall County Council was established here, cementing its role as the county's administrative capital. Yet the defining moment came in 1877, when Truro was granted city status and its own diocese. Construction of Truro Cathedral, begun in 1880 by the future Edward VII, was completed in 1910 — it is one of only three British cathedrals with three spires and the only one built on a new site in Victorian times.

Modern Truro is a compact city of around 20,000 people, yet it remains Cornwall’s principal shopping and cultural centre. Its Victorian terraces, cobbled alleyways and famous cathedral draw visitors from across the country, while direct rail links to London make Truro the gateway to the mysterious peninsula and its ancient Arthurian legends.