St Mary’s Aisle Community Exhibition

How much do you know about St Mary’s Aisle? If you are like me, the answer will be “very little” – at least, it was… until I got involved in putting together a community exhibition.

Many lovely people have contributed information, stories and photographs, and it has been a real journey of discovery. I have learned a lot about the history of the old St Mary’s church and Truro itself, from the earliest days in the Middle Ages to the Tudor and then 18th-century churches. Not to mention the 1880s when the big “extension” in the form of the cathedral was built, and then what happened next...

In putting together the exhibition, we tried to get an insight into the people behind the stories – the rectors who served in what were often troubled times; the local people baptised, married and buried in St Mary’s over the centuries and the ingenuity of the Victorian construction workers who saved this last piece of the old St Mary’s church for future generations.

I had not realised that St Mary’s served as the cathedral for four years until the new building project started, or that many parts of the old building were recycled. I didn’t know who were the last couple to be married before demolition, who endowed the beautiful windows, or what St Mary’s Aisle means today. Which is why working on the exhibition has been such a joy.

If you, like me, are curious about the past and like to find out more, please visit the free exhibition in the South Quire Aisle (near the High Altar) this summer. I hope you enjoy visiting it as much as we enjoyed getting it together.

A big thank you goes to everyone who has helped with the exhibition. Please get in touch at info@trurocathedral.org.uk with your comments or recollections of this very special place and support the St Mary’s Aisle Appeal to make the roof watertight and pass on what is precious.

Judith Field
Fundraising Lead

#StMarysAisle