Truro Cathedral: Spires of hope on the Duchy peninsula

The cathedral and the Duchy of Cornwall

The view from the main tower of Truro Cathedral stretches miles across the Duchy of Cornwall and down the estuary of the Truro river towards the sea. This cathedral city lies a substantial way down the Cornwall peninsula on the south coast close to the main arterial road that runs down the spine of the duchy linking most parts of Cornwall. There are no motorways in Cornwall and once over the River Tamar it feels a long way from the rest of England. Apart from four miles or so of land adjoining the rest of England, Cornwall is an island. London is five hours by train and transport by plane is far from reliable because of the frequent sea fogs. When the Dawlish railway line was washed away by the sea in the 2014 winter storms Cornwall was almost cut off and relied on coach connections with other major South West cities. Like other seaside buildings the cathedral is subject to the changeable weather which can be harsh and unrelenting. Although a modern cathedral built by the Victorians just over 125 years ago to mark the beginnings of the new Church of England diocese in Cornwall, it is undergoing a restoration programme which includes a new roof and replacement sandstone.

Against a challenging social and economic backdrop Truro Cathedral has found a place in the hearts of the Cornish. This is perhaps surprising when local planning disputes, in particular, continue to fuel an antipathy towards institutions and establishment. The majority of Cornwall is owned by local historic landowners of whom the Duchy dominates and despite differences in relations with the Cornish people this adds to the sense of independence from the remainder of mainland England. Churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike regard Truro Cathedral as their cathedral; it was built with Cornish hands and Cornish materials. Its gothic architecture with the three towering spires is utilized as a regional icon for tourism and commercial development, a symbol of modern-day Cornish identity. In common with the majority of English cathedrals Truro Cathedral has a significant impact on the Cornish economy. It featured as a case-study in the 2014 updating of previous research examining the social and economic impact of English cathedrals. ¹ The 2004 report indicated that approaching one in four Truro visitors noted that the main reason for their visit was specifically to visit the cathedral and current experience would indicate that there is no reason to suppose this has significantly changed. ²

Truro Cathedral has a strong ministry of public presence in a rural community that is seeking to maintain its identity in the modern world. The Cornish are rightly proud of their cathedral which frequently serves to symbolize their historic independence from the rest of England. Its role in common with many parish churches is to act, as the sociologist David Martin has observed, as one of the ‘markers and anchors in many rural communities’. ³ Bishop Graham James notes that this brings direct connections with the wider community. Each individual recognizes their importance as ‘part of a movement of history’ in a community that has a history and a future. ⁴ A fellow Church of England bishop, Redfern, writing on contemporary rural ministry notes that

the church building stands for the dependability of God, and for God’s power and presence as located, permanent and enduring … The building is dependable, holy, and transcendent of the normal human world in a way which a professionalized clergy and a struggling congregation cannot hope to incarnate. ⁵

Cathedral congregations operate in a different churchgoing environment from their neighbouring parishes but the impact of their buildings is even more far reaching.

The cathedral’s dominating physical presence in Cornwall’s central city encourages commentators to instinctively look to it as a regional and social voice, a point of reference in national debates. This is illustrated in recent years with the appointment of its diocesan bishop as co-chair of the current national government enquiry into Foodbanks. Cornwall has 26 per cent of households at risk of poverty which places it in the lowest 5 per cent across the United Kingdom. ⁶ The cathedral and local churches have consequently become active in supporting city-wide homeless projects and other local charities. They offer open doors in different ways to all of Cornwall’s citizens whatever their circumstance. The cathedral is concerned to promote a strong ministry of hospitality and, although the building is the prime tourist attraction in Truro, the Chapter has determined that entrance should remain free and open to all. This, however, presents continual funding challenges. Only last year the cathedral generated national headlines when it opened a Christmas shop on the high street to coincide with the summer tourist trade. Chapter reflected that Christmas being a major Christian festival and focus of cathedral life offers opportunities for tourist mementos that, properly managed, can attract visitors to the cathedral. It is a reflection on the lack of spending power in the duchy even during the summer tourist season that this venture had subsequently to be drawn back into cathedral premises to reduce overheads.

Indigenous religiosity

The religious framework of Cornwall is unique to England, having strong historic connections with Ireland, Wales and Brittany. The cathedral is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Christ, but it takes the traditions of Cornish spirituality increasingly seriously. Outside the west entrance is High Cross with its ancient Celtic cross and where the cathedral frequently hosts local celebrations and remembrances. St Piran, one of the most prominent of contemporary Cornish saints, is remembered each year with processions in Cornish towns and cities, and his flag has become the standard of Cornwall with its white cross on a black background, probably with some allusion to the black ore and the white metal of tin. Saint Piran's flag has similarities to the old Breton flag and the flag of Saint David, and the cultural links between Brittany, Wales and Cornwall are well recorded. Saint Piran's flag is the negative image of the old Breton flag, a black cross on a white field. The flag of Saint David shares a black background with Saint Piran's flag, but is surmounted by a gold, rather than a white, cross. Cornish spirituality is thus strongly linked with the Celtic tradition and together with the Cornish language is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. This, in turn, is related to Breton and Welsh. Two annual services in the Cornish language are held each year alongside the annual Cornish Welsh service following local representations, and the cathedral signage includes the Cornish language alongside other main tourist languages.

The distinctiveness of Cornish history comes to the fore with the growing enthusiasm for local musicality instead of traditional English carols and the singing of the Cornish national anthem telling the seventeenth-century story of the fight to gain the freedom of the Cornish bishop (of Bristol) Trelawny who was imprisoned in the Tower of London. One of the oldest depictions of the Cornish flag can be seen in a stained-glass window at Westminster Abbey. It was unveiled in 1888, in memory of the famous Cornish inventor and engineer Richard Trevithick. The window depicts St Michael at the top and nine Cornish saints, Piran, Petroc, Pinnock, Germanus, Julian, Cyriacus, Constantine, Nonna and Geraint in tiers below. The head of St Piran appears to be a portrait of Trevithick himself, and the figure carries the banner of Cornwall. It has been said that there are around two hundred and forty-three Cornish saints, nearly sufficient for every day of the year, and many villages and churches are named after popular local saints. ⁷ At the cathedral those most prominent among them are remembered with particular services in St Sampson’s chapel. It should be noted, however, that Cornish spirituality also has varying pagan roots and the cathedral can find itself with interesting partners in local forums. The regional Religious Studies curriculum includes paganism and one of the cathedral’s priorities is to build stronger educational links through the growing provision of religious tours and teaching for schools and colleges. Children are also fruitful ambassadors, often bringing their families for subsequent visits or to carol services where they feel they can identify with other like-minded congregation members.

The unique spiritual history of Cornwall attracts pilgrims and tourists from across the world. Some have been known to come literally carrying their cross or even on horseback while others present as casual visitors until their story unfolds. The free entrance is often well earnt after miles of purposeful travelling, for Cornwall is not en route to anywhere! Pilgrimage comes in many shapes and sizes as people from near and far seek to find their identity in the modern world. People of all ages remark on the beauty of the architecture and the quiet atmosphere that prompts reflection and prayer. It is not unusual to be approached by a visitor anxious that the supply of candles has dwindled, apparently preventing their individual expression of prayer. Research across English cathedrals has revealed that such lighting of a candle is the single most popular activity among cathedral visitors. ⁸ At Truro opportunities for personal spirituality have been growing in popularity in recent years and, for example, in 2014 over fifty thousand pounds was donated in this way, of which ten thousand pounds was passed to local charities serving the needy.

Contemporary spirituality

English cathedrals are among the most prominent shop windows of the Church of England in public faith forums, and among spiritual and religious explorations in contemporary society. They are churches for the wider community rather than the local parish. They provide hospitality to public and private expressions of explicit and implicit faith. The practical theologian John Reader has observed that the increased globalization of religion is affecting religious expression in the West causing ‘the blurring of boundaries between the different traditions and religious resources’. ⁹ Truro is not alone among cathedrals in attracting many spiritual seekers of diverse religious backgrounds including the regular attendance of one or two practising Buddhists.

This blurring is also stimulating growing disparities between what religious sociologists distinguish as personal religious belief, practice and identity. Weller notes the current complexities between these three distinct axes of religious adherence and concludes that the contemporary socio-religious realities of ‘Christian’, ‘secular’ and ‘religiously plural’ continue to form a significant part of the religious landscape of England and the United Kingdom. ¹⁰ Despite the general decline in churchgoing over the last fifty years, church statistics continue to demonstrate that significant numbers of people in Britain still attend church on significant occasions in their lives. ¹¹ Davies notes that ‘cultural intensification’ is also key to understanding Western religion. ¹² As individuals are socialized into society they construct private and public religious values from experiences and inherited frameworks. Individualized religious stances are developing alongside the mainstream Christian churches and this is only too evident across Cornwall as inherited spiritualties and ‘nationalism’ enjoys resurgence.

The increasing religious diversity now seen across the world has also been described as having the potential to change the shape of western religion and create new religious identities. ¹³ For English cathedrals it creates both tensions and opportunities as they seek to maintain their Christian presence in an increasingly spiritually pluralist nation. Truro Cathedral is seeing a growing partnership with local charities that work among the disadvantaged and needy which is resulting in an increasing number of outward-facing services throughout the year. Alongside this, the continued significant attendances at special festivals that resonate with popular social culture is testament to success in this area. The cathedral begins to host Advent and Christmas carol services at the end of November and continues to the end of December with a popular Pet Carol service.

Not only are Christmas congregations consistently more numerous than at any other time of year but also they are more diverse in their make-up. Individual cathedral surveys confirm that more men, younger families and people with little experience of church attend Christmas services. ¹⁴ In 2015, two thousand people of all ages gathered in Truro Cathedral on Mothering Sunday for the main morning service that was enhanced by locally donated Cornish daffodils. Five hundred attended the Easter celebrations on Easter morning and the growing attendance at quieter midweek services across all cathedrals is evidence of the success of the inclusive nature of the worship menu offered. Sociologists of religion have identified a trend towards a consumer approach towards faith choices and away from any sense of conformity or obligation ¹⁵ but Bell notes that ‘consumerism has certainly not squelched the desire for meaningful identity. Despite century-old predictions that religion would fade away, most individuals still report that religion is one of the most important parts of their identity.’ ¹⁶ Conversations with occasional attenders at Truro Cathedral often uncover a regard of the cathedral as their spiritual home where they feel most comfortable at pivotal times in their lives. Opportunities for the occasional offices are infrequent but open and anonymous access to private and corporate worship offers sustenance to the flame of Christian identity among those on the cathedral fringes.

In Truro the cathedral is the main tourist attraction in the city. Across all English cathedrals visitor and worship numbers confirm what Hunt has observed that ‘the traditional sacred space of our culture retains some hold over people even when they have no desire to attend for formal worship’. ¹⁷ In recent years Truro Cathedral’s values have been focused on the headline of ‘Sacred Space, Common Ground’ as it seeks to establish the cathedral as a place where people of all backgrounds can come together to experience sacred space in their lives. These values have, in turn, generated outward-facing aims that complement the diocesan strategy to focus on worship, visitors, social responsibility, personal growth and finances. This applies not only on an individual level but also on a wider civic, community and county canvas. Of course, this spectrum of potential audiences challenges all cathedrals across England but it becomes noticeably sharp in Cornwall as church and chapel have historically competed for the religious allegiance of the Cornish people. Methodism is traditionally strong in Cornwall having enjoyed the ministry of its founder John Wesley on many occasions.

At the time of the 1851 census a third of churchgoers in Cornwall described themselves as Methodist compared to one in eight who were Anglican. ¹⁸ The remainder attended numerous independent chapels which are still evident across Cornwall. There is, for example, an open-air amphitheatre at Gwennap Pit where it is recorded that Wesley frequently preached to crowds of up to twenty thousand. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Methodism remains the preferred religion of many older people although in common with the rural communities in which it flourished it is now struggling to survive. Many local churches and chapels are increasingly working together across the Duchy and the cathedral actively gives voice to this covenantal partnership through the appointment of the Methodist Canon Theologian alongside other Ecumenical Canons.

Congregational life

Even as the cathedral enjoys its ministry among growing congregations for occasional services it finds itself in a different place regarding its regular adherents who are committed to the life of the cathedral in the city. In common with many local churches, core congregations are older and usually ‘churched’ either through upbringing or committed churchgoing. In recent research undertaken across English cathedral and greater churches, it was reported that the South West cathedrals were unique in experiencing a decline in regular weekly attendance at services of worship. ¹⁹ Situated among a local population primarily of older years these committed attenders and volunteers give generously of their time and support but their numbers are diminishing. Putman, in particular, has anticipated the impact of the passing of this civic generation on whom cathedrals are particularly reliant for their contributions. ²⁰ Truro Cathedral has experienced at first hand the loss of professional expertise through committed volunteers who regarded the core cathedral family almost as their own. With the passing of such lifetimes of church experience, gaps in understanding of cathedral traditions and the theological nature of cathedral life emerge. Cathedrals are more than worshipping religious organizations. They bring the church institution, the body of the church and the people it serves closer together. Relationships, for example, with civic bodies, city life, local churches and diocesan structures are nuanced but mutually beneficial.

In some respects Truro Cathedral could be described as a large city centre parish church. It offers parish ministry to those that live and work in the centre of the city and consequently finds itself embracing a strong role in public life. Dean Ison judges this to be contributory to the growth of cathedral ministry and he pleads for two things from his experience of city-centre cathedral ministry: a greater openness towards organizations ‘having a spiritual dimension to, and affirmation of, their life together’ and the acknowledgement that ‘individuals are willing to come with a familiar group … to a cathedral where they have some relationship’. ²¹ Developing relationships with city organizations and community groups are a priority and, at Truro, these have brought opportunities for additional services and events through, for example, late-night Christmas openings, sponsored career fairs and city-wide debates. The most noticeable success has been with the farming community where the annual Young Farmers carol service attracts two thousand from farming families across the county and has become a priority in the bishop’s diary.

In common with many rural churches, Truro Cathedral also thrives on its relationships both among its congregation members and with the wider city neighbourhood. Michael Langrish writing as a bishop of a rural diocese finds cultivating personal relationships pivotal in the growth of rural churches and in breeding ‘the essential trust and engagement needed for mission in the community’. ²² He quotes the American writer, David R. Ray, in observing that this ‘relational nature is both key to effective ministry and mission, and an essential gift of Gospel life’. ²³ Integral to the prophetic values expounded by the cathedral is that people matter and are valued for what they bring to the whole.

Pastoral ministry takes mission and ministry deeper than mere numbers, and building relationships through midweek services and activities, such as Messy Cathedral days, is an increasing priority in cathedral life resulting in the growth of these smaller congregations (often aimed at different generations) as they develop a life of their own. Across all cathedrals midweek attendances such as these add 85 per cent to overall attendances at services of worship. Truro’s provision of daily morning and evening worship, and other midweek activities both expands its congregations and brings it into contact with increasing numbers of city dwellers and workers. ²⁴ Instrumental in the growth of Truro Cathedral’s ministry is the increasing health and diversity of its congregations which complement the main Sunday-by-Sunday worship.

Concluding remarks

In recent years Truro Cathedral has given particular voice to its intention to offer ‘Sacred Space, Common Ground’ for those who seek its spiritual sanctuary in their daily lives. It is the mother church of a small rural diocese which finds its resources increasingly challenged to continue reaching the Christian communities across the Duchy. Its centrality to the common life of Cornwall and of Cornish heritage has established it as a place of hope and inspiration. Its iconic spires point towards the hope of heaven and a better life that inspires many worshippers and visitors to raise their sights to better things. It is a place of solace and refuge for those in material and spiritual need, and serves to prompt Cornwall to recall its spiritual roots and consider its place in the wider world.

Truro Cathedral was instrumental in giving the new Church of England diocese in Cornwall its identity and it serves similarly in the wider community. Cornwall would be the poorer in its common life without the presence and ministry of the cathedral among its increasingly diverse communities. Local experience reinforces the national survey result that six in ten people consider that cathedrals belong to the whole community not just the Church of England. ²⁵ For the Church of England these shop windows thus offer opportunities which bring inherent tensions. The implications of being a spiritual and community utility are embraced by Truro Cathedral as a vocational calling with generosity of heart. The Duchy is not unique in its levels of poverty and historic pockets of religious distinctiveness, but they come together in a unique way, and the cathedral offers sacred space and common ground that is much needed if the Church of England is to continue to serve this south-west corner of its island.