Today the Cathedral receives around 200,000 visitors a year; some attracted by prayer, worship or music; some out of curiosity; and some just to escape the weather or hustle and bustle of the city.

It contains the world's largest stained glass project ever made. The windows tell the story of the Gospel as well as providing a fascinating narrative history of the church in England. The three round rose windows depicting the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are particularly impressive; both in their size and their colours. Truro is also unique in the fact that it contains a church within a church! St Mary's Aisle is what remains of the original parish church now incorporated into the structure of the Cathedral. The result of the architect, JL Pearson, not wishing to lose a part of the history of the site, when the construction of the new Cathedral commenced. A Tudor church within a Victorian cathedral.

Cornish Saints abound in the Cathedral. They can be found in wood, glass and stone and provide a unique insight into how the light of Christianity was kept alive in Britain during the Dark Ages. Perhaps the most evocative is the painting Cornubia, Land of the Saints, by John Miller, painted in 1980 to help celebrate the Cathedral's centenary. It shows the outline of Cornwall with every parish church marked with a small Celtic cross. The Cornish Saints are painted bringing the light of the Holy Spirit to Cornwall. There is always a group of visitors crowded around the painting admiring it.
The Bath stone reredos (a sculpture behind the High Altar) is a fantastic piece of work by Nathaniel Hitch. The central panel shows Christ crucified while above it, it portrays Christ seated in Majesty, surrounded by figures and scenes from the Bible. It is an amazingly detailed sculpture with the quality of the craftsmanship second to none. If you then raise your eyes above the sculpture to the windows in the East end, you will see a small rectangular piece of bright blue glass, quite out of keeping to the surrounding glass style and colour. This is the Cathedral's only war damage! Self inflicted by a bored chorister with an air rifle rather than the result of any air-raid! Repaired as a temporary measure during the war this bright blue piece of glass has never been replaced. As a consequence, at certain times of year, a shaft of blue light creates a very striking pool of colour on the floor of the Quire.

Finally we are the Cathedral with the ‘bend'! If you stand in the middle of the Cathedral (at either end) and look down the length of the building you will see that things are not as straight as they should be. In fact the main body of the Cathedral ‘bends' 6ft out of true. It was done so that a block of land further to the south didn't have to be purchased and thus further escalating the building costs!

Worship
You are warmly invited to take part in the worship of the Cathedral. There is a range of daily and weekly services with the main Sunday Service taking place at 10am.
We have one of the best Cathedral Choirs in the country. Their fine singing can be heard at Evensong which takes place at 5.30pm during term time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays (4pm). At other times of the year St Mary's Singers or visiting choirs undertake the choral duties.

The Cathedral is free to visit. To help us keep it that way we ask if you would consider giving a donation of £4 per person. Enjoy your visit.

Don't Miss
• ‘Cornubia, Land of the Saints' painting by John Miller
• The fabulous stained glass including the three Rose windows, the Wesley window and the Cornish Saints window
• The Church within a Church
• The fantastic reredos sculpture of Christ crucified carved from Bath Stone
• The ‘bend' in the Cathedral
• The ‘Way of the Cross' terracotta frieze
• The series of four Calvary paintings by Scottish artist Craigie Aitchison

Some Good times for a visit
• Free Entry (7.30am to 6pm most days)
• Free Guided Tours from March to October
(11am Mon to Thur & Sat, 11.30am Fri, also 2pm Mon to Fri during holidays)
• Free lunchtime Concerts on Fridays from March to October at 1.10pm.
• The Cathedral Restaurant provides an appetizing lunch menu including vegetarian options. Delicious Cornish Cathedral Cream Teas are not to be missed. (10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday. Also Sunday Lunches served 12pm to 3.30pm booking required on 01872 245011)
• The Cathedral Shop offers the chance to pick up recordings of our famous Choir and Willis Organ. There are also a number of Cornish made products including jewellery, pottery, Cornish tartan, Cornish fudge and chocolate. (10am to 5pm Mon to Sat in the summer, 4.30pm in the winter)