Truro 6.15

Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Truro is Cornwall's county town and only city, its centre for administration, leisure and retail it also had a population recorded in the 2011 census of 18,766. It is the most southern city in mainland Great Britain. People from Truro are known as Truronians.Truro grew as a centre of trade from its port and then as a stannary town for the tin mining industry. The city's cathedral was completed in 1910. Places of interest include the Royal Cornwall Museum, the Hall for Cornwall and Cornwall's Courts of Justice.ToponymyThe origin of Truro's name is debated. It is said to be derived from the Cornish tri-veru meaning "three rivers", but references such as the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names reject this theory. The "tru" part might mean "three", though this is doubtful. An expert on Cornish place-names, Oliver Padel, in his book A Popular Dictionary of Cornish Place-names, wrote that the 'three rivers' meaning is "possible". Alternatively the name may derive from *tre-uro or similar, i.e. the settlement on the river *uro.HistoryThe earliest records and archaeological findings of a permanent settlement in the Truro area originate from Norman times. A castle was built in the 12th century by Richard de Luci, Chief Justice of England in the reign of Henry II, who for his services to the court was granted land in Cornwall, including the area surrounding the confluence of the two rivers. The town grew in the shadow of the castle and was awarded borough status to further economic activity. The castle has long since gone.