The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West CoastsVarious
History
The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West Coasts
Various
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Rivers -- Great Britain
At Truro, the two little rivers, Kenwyn and Allen, flow through the
city into a creek of the Fal, known as Truro river; the first-named
separates St. Mary's from St. Paul's, while the second divides the
parish of St. Mary from that of St. John. The little Kenwyn is
"personally conducted" through the streets of the cathedral town by
the Corporation, in open conduits, and forms a not unpleasant feature
of the tiny city in Western Barbary whose inhabitants were once said
to have a good conceit of themselves: "The people of this town dress
and live so elegantly that the pride of Truro is become a by-word in
the county." The most modern of our English cathedrals is a monument
to the pious zeal, marvellous industry, and unquenchable enthusiasm
of Dr. Benson, the first Bishop of Truro, afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury. The Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone in 1880,
and its consecration took place seven years later. The style is Early
English of the thirteenth century, and at present the cathedral but
partially realises the ambitious design of the architect, who planned a
very imposing edifice, which, in the event of its ultimate completion,
must inevitably challenge comparison with the most notable of modern
achievements in the Gothic. Already it possesses several splendid
windows and many beautiful specimens of modern sculpture.
[Illustration: _Photo: F. Argall, Truro._
THE FAL FROM TOLVERNE (_p. 65_).]
The prettiest parts of our river lie between King Harry's Passage and
Roseland. Below Tregothnan, where the Fal unites with the Truro river
and St. Clement's creek, both shores are beautifully clothed with
wood, and the fine expanse of water at high tide lends a nobility
and magnificence to the scene which affords ample occasion for the
high-flown descriptions and lavish praise bestowed upon the Fal. On the
right are the grounds of Trelissick; and a picturesque glimpse of the
stream may be caught near the estuary called Malpas Road, by the ferry
at Tolverne. After dividing Mylor from St. Just, the river loses its
identity in forming Carrick Road, and shortly expands into the splendid
haven of Falmouth Harbour. The inner part, between Trefusis Point,
Pendennis, and the town, is called King's Road. Carrick Road, where the
river enters, forms the middle of the harbour, and midway between the
entrance--which is from Pendennis Point to St. Anthony's Head--there
lies the ominously-named Black Rock, around which the Mayor of Truro
sailed in June, 1709, when he sought to exercise jurisdiction over the
port and harbour of Falmouth. But the citizens of the port themselves
had had a powerful friend at Court, in the person of King Charles II.,
who had given Falmouth a charter overriding the ancient claims of
Truro, by which the Mayor of the latter town had levied dues on all
goods laden or unladen in any part of the Fal, from Truro to the Black
Rock; and a trial at law in the same year finally established home rule
in Falmouth Harbour.
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