The
City
of
Truro
is
the
administrative
center
of
Cornwall
with
a
cathedral
that
dominates
the
town.
Occupying
a
position
at
the
head
of
the
Fal
river,
its
a
pretty
and
prosperous
place
and
apart
from
anything,
a
busy
market
town
with
a
good
cross-section
of
shops
and
stores.
If
you’re
visiting
Cornwall
for
the
first
time,
it
makes
a
good
base
from
which
to
start.
It
is
an
old
town,
and
long
before
the
cathedral
was
built,
was
a
trading
center
and
port
with
ships
being
able
to
navigate
right
up
to
the
top
of
the
river.
Today
this
area
is
mostly
used
for
pleasure
cruising,
the
river
being
too
silted
up
for
commercial
purposes.
There
are
some
very
beautiful
parks
and
gardens,
an
extremely
interesting
museum
and
a
good
theatre.
History
in
brief.
Truro
was
originally
a
settlement
at
the
head
of
a
tidal
river;
an
obvious
choice
both
for
market
and
trading
purposes,
being
surrounded
by
agricultural
land,
tin
mining,
and
with
access
to
the
sea.
In
the
early
years
AD,
when
overland
passage
was
difficult
and
sea
and
sail
all
important,
it
was
also
strategically
well
sited
and
grew
to
be
a
very
important
center.
As
the
local
mining
industries
grew,
so
did
Truro
and
it
became
a
‘stannary’
town,
for
the
testing
of
tin.
By
Tudor
times,
the
town
had
gained
rights
for
the
collection
of
dues
on
the
whole
of
the
river.
The
situation
did
not
last,
however,
for
after
the
Civil
War
and
the
restoration
of
King
Charles
ll
to
the
throne,
Truro
lost
a
lot
of
those
trading
rights
to
Falmouth;
the
reason
being,
that
Falmouth
had
been
more
loyal
to
the
crown,
whereas
Truro
had
surrendered
too
easily
to
the
‘Parliamentarians’.
This,
of
course,
has
remained
a
matter
for
debate,
though
only
of
historical
interest
in
the
present
day,
as
the
Industrial
Revolution
made
big
changes
in
Truro’s
fortune. |
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