Truro

Sister cities

• Boppard
• Morlaix

History

A castle was built in the 12th century by Richard de Luci, Chief Justice of England in the reign of Henry II who, for court services, was granted land in Cornwall, including the area round the confluence of the two rivers. The town grew below the castle and gained borough status from further economic activity. The castle has long disappeared. Richard de Lucy fought in Cornwall under Count Alan of Brittany, after leaving Falaise late in 1138. The small adulterine castle at Truro, Cornwall, originally the parish of Kenwyn, later known as "Castellum de Guelon", was probably built by him in 1139–1140. He styled himself "Richard de Lucy, de Trivereu". The castle passed to Reginald FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of Henry I, when he was invested by King Stephen as the first Earl of Cornwall. Reginald married Mabel FitzRichard, daughter of William FitzRichard, a major landholder in Cornwall. The -diameter castle was in ruins by 1270 and the motte was levelled in 1840. Today Truro Crown Court stands on the site. In a charter of about 1170, Reginald FitzRoy confirmed to Truro's burgesses the privileges granted by Richard de Lucy. Richard held ten knights' fees in Cornwall before 1135. At his death, the county still accounted for a third of his considerable total holding. By the early 14th century, Truro was a major port, due to an inland location away from invaders, to prosperity from the fishing industry, and to a role as a stannary town for assaying and stamping tin and copper from Cornish mines. The Black Death brought a trade recession and an exodus that left the town in a very neglected state. Trade and prosperity gradually returned in the Tudor period. Local government came in 1589, with a new charter of Elizabeth I giving it an elected mayor and control over the port of…

Geography

Truro lies in the centre of western Cornwall, about from the south coast, at the confluence of the rivers Kenwyn and Allen, which combine as the Truro River – one of a series of waterways and drowned valleys leading into the river Fal and then the large natural harbour of Carrick Roads. The valleys form a steep bowl surrounding the city on the north, east and west, open to the Truro river in the south. This shape, along with high precipitation that swells the rivers and a spring tide in the River Fal, were major factors in the 1988 floods that seriously damaged the city centre. Since then, flood defences have been constructed, including an emergency dam at New Mill on the river Kenwyn and a tidal barrier on the Truro river. The city is amidst several protected natural areas, such as the historic parklands at Pencalenick and areas of ornamental landscape such as Trelissick Garden and Tregothnan down the Truro river. An area south-east of the city, including Calenick Creek, has been included in the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Other protected zones include an Area of Great Landscape Value comprising farmland and wooded valleys to the north east, and Daubuz Moors, a local nature reserve by the river Allen, close to the city centre. Truro has mainly grown and developed round the historic city centre in a nuclear fashion along the slopes of the bowl valley, except for fast linear development along the A390 to the west, towards Threemilestone. As Truro grew, it encompassed other settlements as suburbs or districts, including Kenwyn and Moresk to the north, Trelander to the east, Newham to the south, and Highertown, Treliske and Gloweth to the west. The Truro area, like the rest of Cornwall, has an oceanic climate. This means fewer extremes in temperature…

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  4,072
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,298
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,253
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,171
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,061
• Speckled Wood

  Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  2,901
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,762
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,681

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2011-06-23
  4 km WSW of Bovey Tracey, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2008-03-23
  38 km NW of St Just, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2007-12-02
  46 km SSE of Mullion, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2006-12-19
  1 km NNE of Polperro, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2005-08-24
  48 km SSW of Newton Ferrers, United Kingdom