Lys Kernow, previously known as New County Hall between 1966 and 2009, is a municipal facility at Treyew Road in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The house, which was at the north end of the site, was retained for use as the county register office. Old County Hall, which remains the official the headquarters of

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

During the first half of the 20th century

Cornwall County Council Cornwall County Council ( kw, Konteth Konsel Kernow) was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. History Cornwall County Counc ...

held its meetings at the Old County Hall at Station Road in Truro. After deciding that the Old County Hall was inadequate for their needs, council leaders decided to procure a new purpose-built building: the site selected had been occupied by the grounds of a private house known as Dalvenie, as well as some surrounding fields. The new building was designed by the County Architect, Francis Kenneth Hicklin, and his successor, Alan Groves, in the Brutalist style and was officially opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on 14 July 1966. The design involved a three-storey square concrete-framed structure with circa 50 bays on each side; the bays contained a window on each floor flanked by concrete slabs. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which was on the first floor and was

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

ed out of the main building on the east side. There was a courtyard, landscaped by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, in the centre of the building; a sculpture by

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

, known as "Rock form, Porthcurno", was unveiled in the courtyard garden when the building opened. Following the abolition of Cornwall County Council in April 2009, the building became the headquarters of the new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. This was followed by an extensive programme of refurbishment works, to a design by Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole of St Ives, which was completed in 2013. The building contains an extensive collection of modern art including a painting by the Cornish fisherman and artist,

Alfred Wallis Alfred Wallis (18 August 1855 – 29 August 1942) was a British fisherman and artist known for his port landscapes and shipping scenes painted in a naïve style. Having no artistic training, he began painting at the age of 70, using househol ...

, depicting the harbour entrance at

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

References

{{Reflist Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall Truro T Government buildings completed in 1966 Brutalist architecture in England