Jubilee - South West Region

Truro Cathedral

As part of her Golden Jubilee tour, the Queen visited Truro Cathedral on 1 May 2002. She and Prince Phillip attended a lunch to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the diocese of Truro.

Although it looks every bit a medieval gothic cathedral, the Grade I listed Truro cathedral is a late Victorian/early Edwardian Gothic-revival building designed by JL Pearson and completed by his son FL Pearson.

It was the first cathedral to be built on a new site in England since Salisbury in 1220. The Twenty-First Century has seen extensive restoration work on the West Front, Towers and roof.

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RNLI St Ives Lifeboat Station

The Queen visited St Ives on 17 May 2013 as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour, unveiling a plaque at the boathouse before greeting the public on the harbourfront and visiting the Tate Gallery.

The St Ives Lifeboat Station was built in 1861 at a cost of £142. It is known that a lifeboat has been stationed at St Ives since at least 1840. The present boathouse was built in 1994 as the previous one was not big enough to accommodate the new Mersey class lifeboat.

In its history, 34 medals have been awarded to members of the St Ives lifeboat crew, 18 silver and 2 bronze.

Find out more about  RNLI St Ives .

National Maritime Museum Cornwall

The Queen visited the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on 1 May 2002 as part of her Golden Jubilee tour. At the time the museum was still under construction.

The Museum was opened in 2003 on the site of former boatyards in Falmouth. It was built as an extension of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich as a seafront site for housing their collection of small boats.

Find out more about the  National Maritime Museum Cornwall .

The Eden Project, St Austell

The Queen visited the Eden Project on 1 June 2006 opening its new education building. She returned in June 2021 hosting the G7 World leaders.

The Eden Project opened for the first time in March 2001, built on the site of an exhausted clay pit just outside St Austell. It features giant ‘Biomes’ housing exotic plants from all over the world and has quickly become a world-famous visitor attraction in Cornwall.

Find out more about the  Eden Project .

The Shire Hall, Bodmin

The Queen visited Bodmin on 8 June 2000 to open the new visitor attraction.

The Grade II* listed Shire Hall in Bodmin was the main courthouse in Cornwall from 1838 to 1988. It is now a visitor attraction with one of its courts restored to its original condition and the other converted to a visitor information centre.

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Devonport, Plymouth

The Queen visited Devonport on 3 June 2010 making her second visit to HMS Ocean as the ship's sponsor - she officially named the helicopter carrier in 1998. She visited again on 20 March 2015 for a rededication ceremony.

The largest naval base in Western Europe, Devonport has been supporting the Royal Navy since 1691. The vast site covers more than 650 acres and has 15 dry docks, four miles of waterfront, 2 tidal berths and five basins. 

The base employs 2,500 service personnel and civilians. It supports around 400 local firms and generates around ten per cent of Plymouth’s income.

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Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

The Queen visited Weymouth on 11 June 2009 to open the new marina. The marina was built using 250,00 tonnes of Portland Stone to build a 875m long breakwater.

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy was created in time for the 2012 London Olympics as the sailing events were hosted in Weymouth.

Find out more about the  National Sailing Academy .

Maiden Castle, Dorset

The Queen visited Maiden Castle on 3 July 1952 to see professor Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s archaeological excavation.

The scheduled monument now known as Maiden Castle is a multivallate (having two or more ramparts) hill fort dating from at least 500 years ago with extensive work dating from the late Iron Age (300 BC). It has been the subject of many archaeological excavations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

It is also featured in the novels of Thomas Hardy who uses the name Mai Dun. It also famously features as a location for a scene in John Schlesinger’s 1967 film adaptation of ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’.

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Poundbury, Dorchester

On 27 October 2016, the Queen visited Poundbury to unveil a statue of the Queen Mother in what is now, Queen Mother Square.

Poundbury is an experimental new town on the outskirts of Dorchester built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. In 1987 architect Leon Krier was commissioned to start work on the plans and building work began on the site in 1993 and the initial development was expected to be complete in 2025.

Poundbury’s design is based upon traditional architectural styles and a ‘New Urbanist’ philosophy endorsed by Prince Charles.

Find out more about  Poundbury .

Bournemouth Pier

The Queen visited Bournemouth on 28 July 2004 also visiting the Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole.

The first wooden pier in Bournemouth was built in 1856 but the current pier dates predominantly from the 1980s when the pier neck was reconstructed in concrete and the octagonal leisure complex was added.

At various times in its history the pier has been damaged by storms, waves and even the British Army, when much of it was demolished in 1940 as a precaution against German invasion.

Find out more about  Bournemouth Pier .

Sherborne Abbey

The Queen visited Sherborne Abbey on 1 May 2012 as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK.

The Grade I listed Abbey Church of St Mary in Sherborne dates back to Saxon times with Norman and medieval additions as well as 19th and 20th century restorations.

Two Saxon kings, Ethelberht and Ethelbald are buried here and it is known that Sir Walter Raleigh worshipped in the church.

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Castle Cary Station

The Queen visited Castle Cary station on 28 March 2019 for the start of her visit to Somerset.

Castle Cary station was built in 1857 originally on the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway linking the Great Western Railway at Chippenham with Weymouth. By 1906 it was transformed from a station on a secondary route to a mainline station when a new more direct line was completed from London to Exeter that didn’t pass through Bristol.  

On 3rd September 1942 a German bomber targeted the station demolishing the signal box - killing a signalman - and destroying the Station Hotel. It is also the main station for those attending the Glastonbury Festival.

Find out more about  Castle Cary Station .

Hauser and Wirth Gallery, Bruton

The Queen visited the gallery on 28 March 2019 as part of her visit to Somerset.

Hauser and Wirth is a fine art gallery that originated in Zurich in 1992 and now has outposts in London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Monte Carlo, St Moritz and … Bruton.

The gallery is housed in the Grade II listed eighteenth century Durslade Farm Barn in the town.

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Chippenham Railway Station

The Queen visited Calne, Chippenham and Malmesbury on 7 December 2001 on a tour postponed from March 2001 due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.

The Grade II listed Chippenham Railway Station was opened in 1858 designed by Rowland Brotherhood. The Chippenham to Bath line was the final piece of the Great Western Railway to be completed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel on 30 June 1841 with the 1.83 mile long Box tunnel taking 2 ½ years to construct.

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Bath Abbey

The Queen visited Bath on 2 May 2002 as part of her Golden Jubilee Tour.

There has been a place of worship on this site for over 1000 years. Bath was given Cathedral status in 1244 at the same time as Wells.  Most of the Abbey as we recognise it today was built from 1499 onwards, replacing the Norman church which had fallen into disrepair.

From 1863, a major restoration of the Abbey commenced led by George Gilbert Scott (architect of the Albert Memorial and the Midland Hotel at St Pancras amongst other buildings) commenced.         

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Gloucester Guildhall

The Queen visited The Guildhall in Gloucester on 3 May 1955 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of King Henry II granting Gloucester’s City Charter.

The current Guildhall is the third guildhall on this site. It was built in 1892 replacing the previous one built in 1751. It was designed by George Hunt in the French Renaissance Style, featuring circular windows, Ionic pilasters and a central stone balcony.

The building was converted in to office space in the late 20th Century when Gloucester City Council moved their meeting space to a building on the docks.

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Wroughton Airfield, Wiltshire

The Queen visited Wroughton Airfield on 23 July 1954 to present Colours to the 1st, 2nd and 4th battalions of the Royal Welch Fusiliers of which she is Colonel in Chief.

Wroughton Airfield was opened on 1 April 1940 and was used for the assembly and storage of aircraft during the second world war. In 1972 it was handed over to the Royal Navy and became a Royal Naval Aircraft Yard. Since 1979, Wroughton has been used to store large objects from the Science Museum.

Find out more about  Wroughton Airfield .

Historic England Archive, Swindon

The Queen visited the Historic England Archive, then The National Monuments Record Centre, as part of a tour of Swindon on the 7 November 1997.

The Archive was originally the Chief Mechanical Engineer's and Drawing Office of the Great Western Railway Works (GWR). It was built in the 1840s, with additions in the 1870s and 1903-8.

The whole building is archaeologically and historically most interesting as the nerve centre of the GWR works. It was used by GWRs main designers Gooch, Armstrong, Dean, Churchward etc. It is where the Castles, Kings, Warships and other important classes, of both steam and diesel trains, were designed.

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Church of St Ia, St Ives Harbour

The Queen visited St Ives Harbour on 17 May 2013 as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour. After unveiling a plaque at the RNLI Boathouse, she greeted the public on the harbourfront and then visited the Tate Gallery.

There are many listed buildings on the St Ives harbourfront, including the Grade I listed church of St Ia. The church was consecrated in 1434 and contains many beautiful features and objects including a sculpture donated by Barbara Hepworth.

St Ia was an Irish saint living in the 5th or 6th century who journeyed to Cornwall and was martyred in Hayle. She also gave her name to the town of St Ives.

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Torquay Pavilion, Torquay Harbour

The Queen and Prince Phillip visited Torquay on 21 July 1988, as part of a visit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the landing at Brixham Harbour of William of Orange, later to become William III.

There are many listed buildings in Torquay harbour including the Grade II listed Torquay Pavilion. The Pavilion was built in 1911 and had its official opening on Saturday 1 August 1912. The first concert was performed by the Torquay Municipal Orchestra.

In its 100 years has been a concert hall, an ice-skating rink, an amusement arcade and a shopping centre.

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Taunton Market

The Queen and Prince Phillip visited Taunton on the 2 May 2002 on the second day of a fifteen-day tour to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.

She first visited the farmers’ market that has been held in the Market Square in Taunton since 1999 in front of the Grade II* listed Market House. This was built in 1770 designed by amateur architect Coplestone Warre Bamfylde.

The central part of the building originally had single storey arcaded open markets on either side of it, these can be seen in the aerial image from 1925. In 1932 they were replaced new 2 storey red brick wings joined to the central building.

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Market Place, Wells

The Queen and Prince Phillip visited Wells on the 2 May 2002 on the second day of a fifteen-day tour to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.

She visited the Market Place in the centre of Wells which has many listed buildings including the grade II* listed market cross. A market cross has marked the site of the market in the city for centuries. This particular version of the cross was made in 1797 replacing an older cross and water fountain.

She also met balloonists Andy Elson and Colin Prescot who broke the World Endurance Record for any Non-Stop Sub-Orbital Flying Machine, flying over 12,000 miles from Spain to the Pacific in 18 days.

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The Corridor, Bath

The Queen visited Bath on 9 August 1973 to commemorate 1000 years since the first king of all England, King Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey. She did a walkabout around the town, seen here passing The Corridor.

The Grade II listed Corridor in Bath, dating from 1825, is one of the world’s earliest shopping arcades. The original roof was glazed with coloured glass. It was altered in the 1870s and this is when the present shopfronts date from.

It had to undergo extensive repair and refurbishment in the 1970s after being damaged by an IRA bomb on 9 December 1974.

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The Bridge Inn, Topsham

The Queen visited the Bridge Inn in Topsham on 27 March 1998 to mark the centenary of the same family running the pub. It was her first ever official visit to a pub.

This historic Grade II listed inn is largely 18th Century made mainly from local stone, although the brewhouse is traditional Devon cob.

The pub has been run by four generations of the same family since 1897 and the interior of the pub retains many of its 19th century fixtures and fittings.

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Cheltenham Racecourse

The Queen visited Cheltenham racecourse on 13 March 2003 to unveil a bronze bust of the Queen Mother on Gold Cup Day.

There has been a racecourse at Cheltenham since 1815. In 1829 Cheltenham’s Parish Priest preached about the evils of horseracing, which led in the coming years to race meetings being disrupted and the grandstand being burnt to the ground!

In 1831 the racecourse was moved to Prestbury Park, where it remains today. A steeplechase was added in 1898 and the Gold Cup race was introduced in 1924.

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Lucknow Barracks, Tidworth

The Queen visited the Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth on the 3 March 2017 to commemorate St David’s Day with soldiers from the Royal Welsh Regiment. She also met one of two regimental goats at the barracks.

Lucknow barracks were completed in 1905 with the nearby Tidworth Military Hospital completed in 1907. It is now home to the first Division of the Royal Welsh Regiment.

Many of the military buildings at Tidworth are now Grade II listed, including the carefully designed Officer’s Mess at Jellalabad Barracks. It is a key building within the important army complex at Tidworth.

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