NOTES AND QUERIES. 441 



the teaching by pictures by the church in the Middle Ages ; of 

 the teaching by the literal words of Scripture by the Church of 

 the Reformation ; the numberless coats of whitewash over both 

 speak of subsequent ages of neglect and indifference ; and may 

 not the restored fabric typify the awakened Church in Cornwall 

 of the nineteenth century. 



No. 3. 

 Notes on the History of Truro. 



The following Notes on the Early History of Truro are 

 extracted from the West Briton of October 23rd, 1890. 



I have read with interest your note on old Truro, and as 

 you ask for further information relating to the town in ancient 

 times, I send you some notes relating to its history, which, as 

 they consist mainly of new matter, I think may be of interest 

 to your readers. 



The materials that exist for the early history of Truro are 

 extremely scanty, but from its position at the head of the 

 navigation it possesses advantages that must have been early re- 

 cognised. It has been suggested that Ptolemy's Cenion indicates 

 the Kenwyn river, and that Truro was at that early date the 

 head of the district, but all tradition tells us that Tregony, and 

 not Truro, was the haven town, and that the former decreased 

 as the latter grew in importance. Domesday Book does not 

 help us, but the details recorded of the western counties are not 

 as full as those in some other parts of England. The town no 

 doubt had its origin when the castle was built early in the 

 twelfth century, and grew up around its walls and under its 

 protection. This castle does not appear to have been a place of 

 very great importance ; it stood on Castle Hill, and in the early 

 part of the present century its remains were indicated by a 

 mound, overgrown by grass and brambles, with a deep hollow 

 in the centre, surrounded by a wall covered with grass. In 

 1840, when levelling the mound to adapt it to the holding of 

 fairs and markets, the foundations of the castle were laid bare. 

 They were circular, about 75 feet in diameter, whilst the thick- 

 ness of the walls was about 3 feet, the latter being constructed 



