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| HER Number: | MCO79957 |
|---|
| Name: | TRURO - C19 memorial obelisk |
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Summary
Extant memorial obelisk erected in 1885 at 182427 45090, moved in the 1960s to Dairyland near Newquay, and in September 2025 moved to its present location
Protected Status: None recorded
Other Statuses/Codes: none recorded
Monument Type(s):
- OBELISK (19th Century to Unknown - 1885 AD)
Full description
Extant memorial obelisk erected in 1885 at 182427 45090, moved in the 1960s to Dairyland near Newquay, and in September 2025 moved to its present location by Truro City Council and the Truro Municipal Charities Trust. Truro City Council Parks Department installed a new concrete base and supported the installation on 25th September 2025.
The obelisk was built as a memorial to Henry Williams, who in 1629 donated money to set up a The Truro Municipal Charities Trust. The Trust was intended to fund almshouses for ten poor widows. It provided clothing and a weekly allowance of four shillings, as well as a meadow where the widows could keep a cow.
The original Williams Court was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the development of the Carrick District Council Offices. These almshouses were replaced by the current Williams Court at this location. These dwellings are still owned and managed by the Truro Municipal Charities Trust.
When the development occurred, the granite obelisk was saved from destruction by Rex Davey, a contractor on the site, who initially relocated it to his farm and later to the Dairyland attraction.
Local historian Barry West and the current owners of Dairyland have since worked to get it returned to Truro. As the original owners of the obelisk, the Truro Municipal Charities Trust chose to locate the obelisk at its current location, where an arch from the former almshouses is also located (1).
The obelisk is inscribed with black lettering on one side:
'IN MEMORY / & HONOUR / OF THE LATE / MR HENRY WILLIAMS / DRAPER OF THIS CITY / THE FOUNDER AND / BENEFACTOR OF THIS / CHARITY A.D 1631', and on it's neighbouring side: 'ERECTED BY / HIS BROTHER TRADESMAN / MR HENRY ANDREWS / DRAPER 1885'.
<1> Truro City Council, 2025, The Henry Williams Almshouses Obelisk Returns to Truro (Website). SCO32278.
Sources / Further Reading
| [1] | SCO32278 - Website: Truro City Council. 2025. The Henry Williams Almshouses Obelisk Returns to Truro. https://truro.gov.uk/press-release/the-henry-williams-almshouses-obelisk-returns-to-truro/38/. |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events: none recorded
Related records
| 25245 | Part of: TRURO - Post Medieval almshouse (Monument) |
| MCO79958 | Related to: TRURO - C19 memorial obelisk (Monument) |
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