Hall for Cornwall

The Hall for Cornwall stands in Boscawen Street in Truro, Cornwall. It occupies a Grade II* listed building that was once the city hall. The structure began as a 17th-century market house with an assembly hall above. In 1846 a new Italianate building replaced it, designed by Christopher Eales in granite ashlar. The frontage has five symmetrical bays with arcading on the ground floor and sash windows above. A clock by J. Moore & Sons was added in 1854, followed by a clock tower in 1858. The building has witnessed important moments in local and cultural history. In 1874 the suffragette Helen Beedy spoke here for women’s voting rights. Truro became a city in 1877 and the complex was renamed Truro City Hall. Queen played their first live concert here on 27 June 1970. After a major refurbishment in the mid-1990s the rear market hall reopened as the Hall for Cornwall on 15 November 1997. A £20 million project by Kier Group and Burrell Foley Fischer created a new auditorium, The Cornwall Playhouse, which opened in 2021. Visitors find a modern theatre inside a historic shell. The Cornwall Playhouse seats 1,354 and is reached from Boscawen Street. The auditorium replaced the old one at the south end, now accessed from Back Quay. The clock tower has been restored with its original clock and four bells returned in 2023. The building still shows its Italianate style with rusticated arcading and sash windows. Christmas shows directed by Simon Harvey have included seasonal favourites in recent years.