The Truro Trail: discover the city's secret history

TRURO

USE W S M A R I T H YO U R TP VIDEO HONE FOR PHOT , SOUND & O GAL LERIE S

Explore the city’s history

CORNWALL’S FORGOTTEN BEETHOVEN From slavery to symphonies

A ROYAL SCANDAL

TRURO’S LOST FRIARY

The Prince, the maids & the soap...

Located in the heart of the city

MAP INSIDE Illustrated & informative guide

Map by Emily Stanbury

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TRURO Explore the city’s history

There is a wealth of history to be discovered around Truro's town centre. On this short walk starting at the Royal Cornwall Museum on River Street, you can discover everything from the medieval friary beneath Kenwyn Street, to the story of a 19th century musical hero. Each story relates to an exhibit in the Royal Cornwall Museum www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk

Bronze Age discoveries Workers discovered hidden secrets dating back to 1000 BC when the foundations of Old County Hall were dug in 1910.

The Dominican Friary In medieval times, the area between River Street and Kenwyn Street was home to a bustling Friary.

The Red Lion The building that now houses the Co-op on Boscawen Street was once the site of a decadent hotel, first built in the 1600s.

The forgotten virtuoso See Truro's Assembly Rooms, where the finest of society once danced to an orchestra led by Joseph Emidy, a former slave who became a famed musician.

Birthplace of the Landers A bus stop marks the spot where one of Cornwall's most famous sons, Richard Lander, was born.

The Prince of Wales, 1880 As the royal who invented public appearances, Edward VII caused quite a stir when he visited Truro in 1880.

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TRURO IN THE BRONZE AGE Archaeological evidence reveals that the hillsides around the estuary valley where the modern Truro city centre exists today have been settled since at least the bronze age.

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hese four copper-alloy bronze age palstaves (axes) were found while the foundations were being dug for the beautiful old building of Old County Hall in 1910. These artefacts were given to the Royal Cornwall Museum by Mr G Penrose, Mr E H Crispen and Mr Wingate.

They date to the Middle Bronze Age (1,400 to 1,200 BC) and have worn shield motifs between the flanges. They are part of a body of evidence that reveals that the hillsides around the estuary valley where the modern city centre of Truro is situated today have been settled since the Bronze Age. Bronze Age cultures began to appear in Cornwall around 2200 BC with new ideas spreading from the continent to the existing population.

Cornwall and neighbouring Devon had large reserves of tin, which was mined extensively during the Bronze Age by people of the Beaker culture. Tin is necessary to make bronze from copper. By about 1600 BC, Cornwall was experiencing a trade boom driven by the export of tin across Europe.

Bronze Age sites like these are found all over Cornwall, especially on Bodmin Moor and in Penwith.

Standing stones are evidence partly of religious beliefs but also of an understanding of the movements of the sun and moon.

But by 1400 BC, archaeologists believe that, as the climate cooled, social decline set in. Stone circles were abandoned and there is no evidence that Truro was settled again until the 12th century, under Norman rule.

Cornish tin and copper was extracted from the ground by tin-streaming and open-cast mining. The ores were then shipped to Brittany, and from there overland to the Mediterranean.

Bronze, the alloy of tin and copper, slowly became the standard metal for weapons and tools. Jewellery was also made from bronze and Cornish gold.

Between 2200 BC and 1400 BC stone circles, stone alignments, holed stones (such as that at Men-an-Tol) and round barrows were built. The Beaker people who worshipped at these sites arrived at the point when the change from the Neolithic Age to the Copper and Bronze Age was starting to happen.

ABOVE

The Men-an-Tol stone circle

FIND OUT MORE...

See photographs & links to information about Bronze Age Cornwall

www.trurotrail.com/ bronze-age-truro

OLD COUNTY HALL

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n April, 1, 1889, Cornwall County Council was created by the Local Government Act of 1888 and in 1890, T B Silcock, a prominent architect from Bath, set about designing Old County Hall which was to house Cornwall County Council until New County Hall was opened a short distance away in 1966.

For many years Old County Hall has been home to the County Records Office and other council related departments. There are now plans, however, for the building to become the Truro Spa Hotel, as it has been sold to a private concern because the old building is no longer suitable for modern offices.

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Below

Right

Seal of the Dominican Friary, Truro Found in a garden in Sturry, near Canterbury in 1842, this dates to the late Medieval period

Sculptured Stone Capital Found on the site of the Friary on River Street in 1839 by Mr Spry and donated to the museum

TRURO’S LOST FRIARY

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mong the first settlers in what is now Truro city centre were the friars of the Dominican Priory, which was founded in around 1259.

It is believed that the Friary was located between River Street, opposite the Royal Cornwall Museum, and Kenwyn Street, stretching down to Victoria Square, which at that time was a port, as the river reached this far. The western boundary was probably located along what is now St Dominic’s Street.

Archaeolgical excavations have revealed that the Friary church was located on the corner of Little Castle Street and Kenwyn Street.

The Friary was destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in around 1539 and today all that remains is this stone capital, donated to the Royal Cornwall Museum and the Friary seal, found in a garden in Kent.

There is also some masonry in the garden of the King William VI pub on Kenwyn Street and it is believed the stones would have been used in other Truro buildings.

The 12 friars who lived and worked here would have drawn water from a well, which is currently in the garden of Cadevras House on

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George St, and they would have been scholars who worked within the local community, including nearby Cadevras Farm, to help and heal the poor.

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The Friary church was probably located on the corner of Little Castle Street and Kenwyn Street

Below

The site of the Friary on River Street

Discover more about Truro in medieval times and the life and work of Dominican friars online. You can also find the locations of these sites on Google Maps in modern day Truro.

www.trurotrail.com/ the-dominican-friary

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THE RED LION HOTEL A genteel establishment

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he Red Lion Hotel in Truro dates back to the 17th century, having been built as a family home in 1682, before being re-opened as The Red Lion Hotel (a hotel by that name originally existed further along Boscawen Street) by Thomas Gatty in 1769. The hotel was one of the finest in the county, but sadly it was badly damaged in 1967 when a lorry travelling down Lemon Street failed to stop due to brake failure.

Councillors argued it would simply be too expensive to rebuild the hotel and the building was demolished.

There has been controversy over whether the old building could have been repaired ever since.

A lion roof tile was found in a skip, shortly after the accident and saved for the Royal Cornwall Museum. It gives some sense of the style of the old hotel and the remarkable attention to decor for which the hotel was famed. Today, the building houses a convenience store and is rather more utilitarian in design.

1769: Open for business

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“I shall take care to have exceedingly good beds and stabling and to lay in the best provisions and wines...”

hese are the words of Thomas Gatty when he reopened the former home of John Foote as The Red Lion Hotel.

With three parlours, a 73 ft-long dining room, vast lodging rooms and enough stabling for more than 30 horses, the inn quickly established a reputation as one of the most prestigious hotels in the county and remained popular for almost 200 years, until its destruction in 1967.

Above far LEFT

The hotel photographed in its heyday in 1904. Below the modern day building

aBOVE LEFT

The hotel in 1904 blended with modern Boscawen Street

aBOVE

Red Lion roof tile This was rescued from a skip while the hotel was being demolished

See more photos and find out more of the hotel’s history.

www.trurotrail.com/ the-red-lion-hotel

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JOSEPH EMIDY From slavery to symphonies

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oseph Antonia Emidy is believed to have been born in West Africa in c.1775. Like many children from the area at the time, he was enslaved as a child by Portuguese traders, taken to Brazil and subsequently Portugal. It seems Joseph had a kind master who identified the young boy’s musical talent and paid for violin lessons.

As a young man, he became a virtuoso violinist in the Lisbon Opera until a British sea captain attended the opera and, having seen Emidy play, arranged for him to be kidnapped and taken aboard his vessel to play ‘the fiddle’ for his British sailors during the Napoleonic wars.

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Joseph spent the next four years as a ship fiddler (much to his distaste) before finally being allowed to leave the ship a free man at Falmouth in 1799.

In Falmouth, Joseph Emidy began earning his living as a violinist and teacher.

In 1802 he married the daughter of a respected local tradesman. Five of their eight children were baptised at the Church of King Charles the Martyr before the family moved to Truro in 1815.

Emidy remained in Cornwall to perform, teach and compose throughout the county, organising concerts, pioneering harmonic

Transcript of Joseph Emidy’s headstone HERE LIE DEPOSITED THE MORTAL REMAINS OF MR JOS:H ANTONIA EMIDY WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE, ON THE 23RD OF APRIL 1835 AGED 60 YEARS.

LEFT

The watercolour ‘A Musical Club’ is the only known portrait of Joseph Emidy

ABOVE

Emidy’s headstone in Kenwyn churchyard

ABOVE RIGHT

The façade of the Assembly Rooms still stands at High Cross, Truro

societies and eventually becoming leader of the Truro Philharmonic Orchestra.

His own chamber works, concertos and symphonies made him the most celebrated and influential musical figure in early 19th century Cornwall.

AND SACRED TO WHOSE MEMORY THIS TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION IS ERECTED

BY HIS SURVIVING FAMILY. HE WAS NATIVE OF PORTUGAL, WHICH COUNTRY HE QUITTED ABOUT FORTY YEARS SINCE, AND, PURSUING THE MUSICAL PROFESSION, RESIDED IN CORNWALL UNTIL THE CLOSE OF HIS EARTHLY CAREER.

In 2012, the Joseph Antonia Emidy Foundation proposed that a plaque be placed on the Assembly Rooms building in High Cross next to Truro Cathedral. Efforts are ongoing to achieve this. A memorial plaque has been placed at Falmouth Parish Church, where he first arrived in Britain in 1799.

Devoted To Thy Soul-Inspiring Strains, Sweet Music! Thee He Hail’d His Chief Delight And With Fond Zeal That Shunn’d Nor Toil Nor Pain His Talent Sear’d, And Genius Mark’d Its Flight In Harmony He Liv’d, In Peace With All Took His Departure From This World Of Woe, And Here His Rest, Till The L-ast Trumpet’s Call, Shall ‘Wake Mankind To Joys That Endless Flow.

Sadly, London society was considered too racist for Emidy to succeed by musical impressarios of the time and tragically, all of Emidy’s original compositions are believed lost.

Joseph Antonia Emidy died in Truro on 23rd April, 1835 and his tombstone is in Kenwyn churchyard.

Find the Truro locations linked to Jospeh Emidy on Google maps and streetview. You can also find out more about Joseph’s history and hear some of the music which historical records reveal he liked to perform.

www.trurotrail.com/joseph-emidy

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Richard Lander

any Cornish people may know his name, but fewer are probably aware of Richard Lander’s achievements. Lander, who has a memorial statue on Lemon Street, was born in 1804 in The Fighting Cocks Inn which stood at the east-end of the Leats, just behind the site of the Royal Cornwall Museum.

Cornwall’s famous explorer

At that time, Lander’s father was the publican who ran the inn. Truro was a bustling port, and the pub was a popular meeting place for sailors and travellers.

By the age of nine, Richard had no parents to guide him, and so, inspired by exotic tales he set off to London on foot, to seek employment as an explorer. When he arrived, he met the adventurer Captain Hugh Clapperton.

Young Lander had written to the African explorer asking to accompany him as a servant and learn all he could during his travels. Following several voyages working as a servant with wealthy families during his teens, Lander finally accompanied Clapperton on a trip to Africa in 1825.

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Sadly, during the dangerous exploration of the west African interior his master died and Lander was forced to return home alone. Undeterred by the arduous African journey, Lander returned in 1830 on a government expedition to find the source of the River Niger – a trip that would see him canoe hundreds of miles along the mighty stretch of water accompanied by his brother John.

Four years later, Lander was attacked by tribesmen and fatally wounded in his leg during an exploration of the Niger and Benue Rivers, a trip funded by Liverpudlian merchants keen to establish trading posts in the area.

ABOVE The Richard Lander monument ABOVE The Landers’ medicine chest LEFT Richard and John took this medicine chest to Africa in the early 1830s

He died from his wounds aged just 30 years old in 1834, but in the same year was awarded the first gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society.

He left his mark in Africa too, naming Truro Island along the Niger River and giving a hill along its riverbank the name Cornwall Mountain.

Find the Truro locations linked to Richard Lander on our interactive map.

You can also find out more about Richard Lander’s incredible life story and hear radio broadcasts and videos about his life and times.

www.trurotrail.com/richard-lander

THE FIGHTING COCKS INN

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t the east-end of The Leats, there was once a cock-pit on the quay. It was here that an inn called The Fighting Cocks served to remind residents of its one-time existence, until 1810 when its name changed to The Dolphin Today it is the Lemon Quay bus terminal. The cock-fighting drew many men from all quarters and much expense was wasted in preparations and wagers. Battles

that began with the cocks very often led to fights between men, sometimes resulting in men losing their lives. The Fighting Cocks Inn was built on this spot, and it was here that Richard Lander was born in 1804 and his brother John in 1807. The building was later used as a chapel before it was demolished in the 1880s.

RIGHT The Cock Pit, pre-1880

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THE PRINCE & THE MAIDS When Edward, Prince of Wales visited Truro in 1880 to lay the foundation stone of Truro Cathedral, he caused quite a stir

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his is the soap that was collected by two maids (pictured) from the rooms of HRH Edward, Prince of Wales in 1880 during his visit to lay the foundation stone of Truro Cathedral. The maids apparently discovered that the prince had washed his face with the soap and kept it as a keepsake.

It’s a charming story, which resonates in modern life.

No doubt the soap that Prince William uses to wash his face would garner a good deal on ebay today.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of what happened to the naughty maids who kept the Prince of Wales’ soap but it remains on view in the Royal Cornwall Museum as an early example of the culture of celebrity that is so prevalent in modern day society.

Given Prince Edward’s high profile at the time, it is little wonder that he did generate such interest. Although his mother, Queen Victoria, went into deep mourning for Prince Consort Albert, Edward pioneered the idea of public appearances by the royal family.

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Did this prince launch the paparazzi?

RIGHT

Newspaper coverage of Prince Edward’s visit to Truro in 1880

Left

Photograph of the two maids from Southleigh and the soap they ‘saved’

SOUTHLEIGH

In addition, the press of the day was fascinated by his decadent lifestyle.

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In 1875, the newspapers reported that he sailed down the River Nile accompanied by six blue and gold steamers towing supply barges. One carried 3,000 bottles of champagne, 4,000 bottles of claret, 10,000 pints of beer and four French chefs. He was also alleged to be something of a playboy and was said to have a string of mistresses after he married Princess Alexandria of Denmark. One of them was Alice Keppel, greatgrandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and their affair inspired Camilla’s reported chat-up line to Prince Charles:

he maids worked at a beautiful house called Southleigh, which still stands on Lemon Street in Truro, at the point it joins Infirmary Hill. At the turn of the 20th century, Lemon Street was inhabited by the most affluent of Cornish society and Southleigh was a large residence with a carriage house and a coach house.

Today, Southleigh is divided into private flats and the coach house and carriage house are separate residences. It is a beautiful old building and it is easy to imagine Prince Edward enjoying a little privacy in the grounds while remaining close to the heart of Truro.

“My great-grandmother had an affair with your greatgreat-grandfather... how about it?”

BELOW Southleigh today See more photos and find out more about Edward, Prince of Wales and the building of Truro Cathedral.

www.trurotrail.com/the-prince-of-wales-soap

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Royal Cornwall Museum River Street Truro Cornwall TR1 2SJ Tel 01872 272205 www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk

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