Falmouth, Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port
on the River Fal
on the south coast of Cornwall
, England
, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.
Falmouth is the terminus of the A39
, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset.
, it forms the third deepest natural harbour in the world, and the deepest in Western Europe. It is also famous for being the start or finish point of various round-the-world record-breaking voyages, such as those of Sir Francis Chichester
and Dame Ellen MacArthur
. Falmouth Docks Police
enforce the law in the docks.
The name Falmouth is Anglo-Saxon
, and appears to be a direct translation of the prior Celtic name Aberfal, "mouth of the Fal
river". It is claimed that an earlier Celtic name for the place was Peny-cwm-cuic, which has been Anglicized to 'Pennycomequick'.
Falmouth was the site where Henry VIII
built Pendennis Castle
to defend Carrick Roads, in 1540. The main town was at Penryn
. Sir John Killigrew created the town of Falmouth shortly after 1613.
In the late 16th century, under threat from the Spanish Armada, the defences at Pendennis were strengthened by the building of angled ramparts. During the Civil War
, Pendennis Castle was the second to last fort to surrender to the Parliamentary Army.
After the Civil War, Sir Peter Killigrew received Royal patronage when he gave land for the building of the Church of King Charles the Martyr
, dedicated to Charles I, "the Martyr"
.
The Falmouth Packet Service
operated out of Falmouth for over 160 years between 1689 and 1851. Its purpose was to carry mail to and from Britain's growing empire
. As the most south-westerly good harbour in Great Britain Falmouth was often the first port for returning Royal Navy
ships.
was landed here from the schooner Pickle and taken to London by stagecoach. On 2 October 1836 anchored at Falmouth at the end of its famous survey voyage
around the world. That evening, Charles Darwin
left the ship and took the Mail coach
to his family home at The Mount, Shrewsbury
. The ship stayed a few days and Captain Robert Fitzroy
visited the Fox family
at nearby Penjerrick Gardens. Darwin's shipmate Sulivan later made his home in nearby waterside village of Flushing
, then home to many naval officers.
In 1839 Falmouth was the scene of the gold dust robbery
when £4,600 worth of gold dust from Brazil was stolen on arrival at the port.
The Falmouth Docks
were developed from 1858, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
(RNLI) opened Falmouth Lifeboat Station
nearby in 1867. The present building dates from 1993 and jointly houses Her Majesty's Coastguard
. The RNLI operates two lifeboats
from Falmouth: Richard Cox Scott, a 17 metres (55.8 ft) Severn Class
all weather boat, and Eve Park, an Atlantic 75
inshore lifeboat.
The Cornwall Railway
reached Falmouth on 24 August 1863. The railway brought new prosperity to Falmouth, as it made it easy for tourists to reach the town. It also allowed the swift transport of the goods recently disembarked from the ships in the port. The town now has three railway stations. Falmouth Docks railway station
is the original terminus and is close to Pendennis Castle and Gyllyngvase beach. Falmouth Town railway station
was opened on 7 December 1970 and is convenient for the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
, the waterfront, and town centre. Penmere railway station
opened on 1 July 1925 towards the north of Falmouth and within easy walking distance of the top of The Moor. All three stations are served by regular trains from Truro
on the Maritime Line
. Penmere Station was renovated in the late 1990s, using the original sign and materials, and is now a fine example of an early 20th century railway station.
During World War II
, 31 people were killed in Falmouth by German
bombing
. It was also the launching point for the famous Commando raid
on St Nazaire. An anti-submarine net was laid from Pendennis to St Mawes, to prevent enemy U-boat
s entering the harbour.
While Falmouth's maritime activity has much declined from its heyday, the docks are still a major contributor to the town's economy. It is the largest port in Cornwall. Falmouth is still a cargo port and the bunkering of vessels and the transfer of cargoes also keep the port's facilities busy. The port is also becoming popular with cruise ship operators. Sixty-four cruise ships were due in Falmouth in 2007.
Further up the sheltered reaches of the Fal there are several ships laid up, awaiting sailing orders and/or new owners/charterers.
With its Georgian
town houses converted into guest houses and small hotels, often overlooking one of the beaches, Falmouth has proven a popular holiday destination and it is now primarily a tourist resort. The five main beaches starting next to Pendennis Castle and moving along the coast towards the Helford river are Castle, Tunnel, Gyllyngvase
, Swanpool and Maenporth
beaches. The National Maritime Museum Cornwall
opened in February 2003. The building was designed by the architect M. J. Long.
has two campuses in the Falmouth area; the original town site, Woodlane, and the other in the Combined Universities in Cornwall
campus at Tremough
, Penryn
. The University offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses chiefly in the fields of Art, Design and Media. University College Falmouth is known worldwide for its award winning Journalism course, which boasts such graduates as Angus Walker and Fergus Walsh
and the Graphic Design course which wins many coveted awards annually, such as the D&AD award. Another notable course is MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice, led by internationally acclaimed artist Daro Montag.
Falmouth Marine School, formerly Falmouth Technical College specialises in Traditional and Modern Boatbuilding, Marine Engineering, Marine Environmental Science and Marine Leisure Sport. The campus is part of Cornwall College which is registered through Plymouth University. The college acts as a first and second college for sixth form students and for undergratuate students, ranging from City & Guilds, NVQs and NDs to Foundation Degrees (formally Higher National Diplomas).
The Lady of the Lamp, Florence Nightingale
, visited Falmouth and stayed at the town's Greenbank Hotel. Her name in the register can be viewed at the hotel today.
Falmouth has many literary connections. The town was the birthplace of Toad, Mole and Rat: Kenneth Grahame
's classic Wind in the Willows began as a series of letters sent to his son. The first two were written at the Greenbank Hotel whilst Grahame was a guest in May 1907. Reproductions of the letters are currently on display in the hotel. Poldark
author Winston Graham
knew the town well and set his novel The Forgotten Story (1945) in Falmouth.
The town has been the setting for several films and television programmes. British film star Will Hay
was a familiar face in Falmouth in 1935 whilst filming his comedy Windbag the Sailor
. The movie had many scenes of the docks area. The docks area was featured in some scenes with John Mills
for the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic
. Robert Newton
, Bobby Driscoll
and other cast members of the 1950 Walt Disney movie Treasure Island
, (some scenes were filmed along the river Fal), were visitors to the town. Stars from the BBC TV serial The Onedin Line
stayed in the town during filming in the late 1970s. In 2011 Paramount Pictures filmed parts of the movie World War Z
starring Brad Pitt
in Falmouth Docks and off the coast.
The town has a football team in the South West Peninsula Premier League, Falmouth Town F.C., who play at Bickland Park in the south-west of the town, and also Falmouth RFC
, a rugby union
club who play at The Recreation Ground,a site at the top of The Moor.
Falmouth has the first and last "Polytechnic": Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
.
The Falmouth Art Gallery
is a public gallery with a diverse nineteenth century and twentieth century art collection including many notable modern Cornish artists exhibited in four to five seasonal exhibitions a year, as well as a "family friendly and free" community and schools education programme.
crossed the Atlantic
from Falmouth, Massachusetts to Falmouth, Cornwall from June–August 1965 in the thirteen and a half foot Tinkerbelle
- this was the smallest boat to make the crossing at the time. The town was the location for the 1998 Tall Ships' Race
in which approximately ninety Tall Ships
set sail for Lisbon
, Portugal
.
It also saw total coverage of the total eclipse of the Sun
at 11:11 a.m. on 11 August 1999, where this eclipse lasted just over two minutes - the longest duration in the UK.
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
on the River Fal
River Fal
The River Fal flows through Cornwall, United Kingdom, rising on the Goss Moor and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. On or near the banks of the Fal are the castles of Pendennis and St Mawes as well as Trelissick Garden. The River Fal separates the Roseland peninsula from the rest of...
on the south coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.
Falmouth is the terminus of the A39
A39 road
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset.
Falmouth harbour
Falmouth is famous for its harbour. Together with Carrick RoadsCarrick Roads
Carrick Roads is located on the southern Cornish coast in the UK, near Falmouth. It is a large waterway created after the Ice age from an ancient valley which flooded as the melt waters caused the sea level to rise dramatically , creating a large natural harbour which is navigable from Falmouth to...
, it forms the third deepest natural harbour in the world, and the deepest in Western Europe. It is also famous for being the start or finish point of various round-the-world record-breaking voyages, such as those of Sir Francis Chichester
Francis Chichester
Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE , aviator and sailor, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall.-Early life:Chichester was born in Barnstaple,...
and Dame Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...
. Falmouth Docks Police
Falmouth Docks Police
Falmouth Docks Police is a small, specialised non-Home Office police force responsible for policing Falmouth Docks.Officers of this force are sworn in as special constables under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847...
enforce the law in the docks.
History
See also: Miss Susan Gay's Falmouth chronologyMiss Susan Gay's Falmouth chronology
A chronology of the town of Falmouth was described by Miss Susan E. Gay in Old Falmouth , pages 230–238.-Before the eighteenth century:*9th century. Pendennis supposed to have been fortified by the Danes.*1120 The naming of Gyllyngvase....
The name Falmouth is Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
, and appears to be a direct translation of the prior Celtic name Aberfal, "mouth of the Fal
River Fal
The River Fal flows through Cornwall, United Kingdom, rising on the Goss Moor and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. On or near the banks of the Fal are the castles of Pendennis and St Mawes as well as Trelissick Garden. The River Fal separates the Roseland peninsula from the rest of...
river". It is claimed that an earlier Celtic name for the place was Peny-cwm-cuic, which has been Anglicized to 'Pennycomequick'.
Falmouth was the site where Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
built Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle is a Henrician castle, also known as one of Henry VIII's Device Forts, in the English county of Cornwall. It was built in 1539 for King Henry VIII to guard the entrance to the River Fal on its west bank, near Falmouth. St Mawes Castle is its opposite number on the east bank and...
to defend Carrick Roads, in 1540. The main town was at Penryn
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
. Sir John Killigrew created the town of Falmouth shortly after 1613.
In the late 16th century, under threat from the Spanish Armada, the defences at Pendennis were strengthened by the building of angled ramparts. During the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Pendennis Castle was the second to last fort to surrender to the Parliamentary Army.
After the Civil War, Sir Peter Killigrew received Royal patronage when he gave land for the building of the Church of King Charles the Martyr
Church of King Charles the Martyr, Falmouth
The Church of King Charles the Martyr is a parish church in the Church of England located in Falmouth, Cornwall.-History:The foundation stone was laid in August 1662 and the church was consecrated in 1665 by Seth Ward, Bishop of Exeter....
, dedicated to Charles I, "the Martyr"
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
The Falmouth Packet Service
Post Office Packet Service
The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private...
operated out of Falmouth for over 160 years between 1689 and 1851. Its purpose was to carry mail to and from Britain's growing empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. As the most south-westerly good harbour in Great Britain Falmouth was often the first port for returning Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships.
19th & 20th centuries
News of Britain's victory and Admiral Nelson's death at TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
was landed here from the schooner Pickle and taken to London by stagecoach. On 2 October 1836 anchored at Falmouth at the end of its famous survey voyage
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
around the world. That evening, Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
left the ship and took the Mail coach
Mail coach
In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
to his family home at The Mount, Shrewsbury
The Mount, Shrewsbury
The Mount, is the site of a house in Shrewsbury, officially known as Mount House that belonged to Robert Darwin and was the birthplace of his son Charles Darwin.- Overview :...
. The ship stayed a few days and Captain Robert Fitzroy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
visited the Fox family
Fox family of Falmouth
The Fox family of Falmouth, Cornwall, UK were very influential in the development of the town of Falmouth in the 19th century and of the Cornish Industrial Revolution...
at nearby Penjerrick Gardens. Darwin's shipmate Sulivan later made his home in nearby waterside village of Flushing
Flushing, Cornwall
Flushing is a coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles south of Penryn and eleven miles south-east of Truro. It faces Falmouth across the Penryn river, an arm of the Carrick Roads...
, then home to many naval officers.
In 1839 Falmouth was the scene of the gold dust robbery
Gold dust robbery
The Gold dust robbery took place in 1839 in Falmouth, Cornwall. According to the New Newgate Calendar, pp. 480ff, "The extraordinary robbery to which these persons were parties involved circumstances probably more singular than any other which ever came before a court of justice".-Events:Lewin...
when £4,600 worth of gold dust from Brazil was stolen on arrival at the port.
The Falmouth Docks
Falmouth Docks
Falmouth Docks are the docks of the town of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, UK.The docks are served by the Falmouth Docks railway station. Policing is by the Falmouth Docks Police.-Further reading:...
were developed from 1858, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
(RNLI) opened Falmouth Lifeboat Station
Falmouth Lifeboat Station
Falmouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution search and rescue operations at Falmouth, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1867 and the present station was opened in 1993...
nearby in 1867. The present building dates from 1993 and jointly houses Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
. The RNLI operates two lifeboats
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
from Falmouth: Richard Cox Scott, a 17 metres (55.8 ft) Severn Class
Severn class lifeboat
At long, the Severn class lifeboat is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution . Introduced to service in 1996, the class is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain...
all weather boat, and Eve Park, an Atlantic 75
Atlantic 75 class lifeboat
B-Class lifeboats serve the shores of the UK as a part of the RNLI inshore fleet.The Atlantic 75 is the second generation Rigid Inflatable Boat in the B-Class series, developed from the Atlantic 21...
inshore lifeboat.
The Cornwall Railway
Cornwall Railway
The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
reached Falmouth on 24 August 1863. The railway brought new prosperity to Falmouth, as it made it easy for tourists to reach the town. It also allowed the swift transport of the goods recently disembarked from the ships in the port. The town now has three railway stations. Falmouth Docks railway station
Falmouth Docks railway station
Falmouth Docks station in Falmouth, Cornwall is the terminus of the Maritime Line to Truro, the services are operated by First Great Western.-History:...
is the original terminus and is close to Pendennis Castle and Gyllyngvase beach. Falmouth Town railway station
Falmouth Town railway station
Falmouth Town station is the most central railway station in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is on the Maritime Line, from . It is unstaffed but operated, along with the trains, by First Great Western...
was opened on 7 December 1970 and is convenient for the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, the waterfront, and town centre. Penmere railway station
Penmere railway station
The Penmere railway station serves the northern part of Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is on the Maritime Line from to . The services are operated by First Great Western and the station is within walking distance of the top of The Moor in the centre of the town.-History:The station was...
opened on 1 July 1925 towards the north of Falmouth and within easy walking distance of the top of The Moor. All three stations are served by regular trains from Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
on the Maritime Line
Maritime Line
The Maritime Line is a railway line that runs in the valley of the River Fal from Truro to Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom.-History:...
. Penmere Station was renovated in the late 1990s, using the original sign and materials, and is now a fine example of an early 20th century railway station.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 31 people were killed in Falmouth by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
bombing
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. It was also the launching point for the famous Commando raid
St. Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined...
on St Nazaire. An anti-submarine net was laid from Pendennis to St Mawes, to prevent enemy U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s entering the harbour.
Economy, industry and tourism
Further up the sheltered reaches of the Fal there are several ships laid up, awaiting sailing orders and/or new owners/charterers.
With its Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
town houses converted into guest houses and small hotels, often overlooking one of the beaches, Falmouth has proven a popular holiday destination and it is now primarily a tourist resort. The five main beaches starting next to Pendennis Castle and moving along the coast towards the Helford river are Castle, Tunnel, Gyllyngvase
Gyllyngvase
Gyllyngvase is one of the four beaches associated with Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, south of Pendennis Castle.It is to the south of Falmouth town centre, but was an essentially rural area as recently as the late 19th century...
, Swanpool and Maenporth
Maenporth
Maenporth is a cove and beach in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately two miles south-southwest of Falmouth on the estuary of the River Fal....
beaches. The National Maritime Museum Cornwall
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall. The building was designed by architect M. J...
opened in February 2003. The building was designed by the architect M. J. Long.
University College Falmouth
University College FalmouthUniversity College Falmouth
University College Falmouth is a British university college in Falmouth, Cornwall. Founded in 1902, it had previously been the Falmouth School of Art and then Falmouth College of Arts until it received taught degree-awarding powers in March 2005...
has two campuses in the Falmouth area; the original town site, Woodlane, and the other in the Combined Universities in Cornwall
Combined Universities in Cornwall
The Combined Universities in Cornwall is a project to provide higher education in Cornwall, one of the few counties in the United Kingdom not to have a university within its boundaries, and also one of the poorest areas of the country in terms of GDP per head...
campus at Tremough
Tremough
Tremough Campus is a university campus situated in Penryn, Cornwall. It is the only such university project in Cornwall currently. The name Tremough derives from the Cornish word for "pig farm"....
, Penryn
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
. The University offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses chiefly in the fields of Art, Design and Media. University College Falmouth is known worldwide for its award winning Journalism course, which boasts such graduates as Angus Walker and Fergus Walsh
Fergus Walsh
Fergus Walsh has been the BBC's medical correspondent since 2006. He has won several awards for medical journalism, and has been commended for his work in making important health topics more understandable to the public....
and the Graphic Design course which wins many coveted awards annually, such as the D&AD award. Another notable course is MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice, led by internationally acclaimed artist Daro Montag.
Falmouth Marine School, formerly Falmouth Technical College specialises in Traditional and Modern Boatbuilding, Marine Engineering, Marine Environmental Science and Marine Leisure Sport. The campus is part of Cornwall College which is registered through Plymouth University. The college acts as a first and second college for sixth form students and for undergratuate students, ranging from City & Guilds, NVQs and NDs to Foundation Degrees (formally Higher National Diplomas).
Culture
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, visited Falmouth and stayed at the town's Greenbank Hotel. Her name in the register can be viewed at the hotel today.
Falmouth has many literary connections. The town was the birthplace of Toad, Mole and Rat: Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
's classic Wind in the Willows began as a series of letters sent to his son. The first two were written at the Greenbank Hotel whilst Grahame was a guest in May 1907. Reproductions of the letters are currently on display in the hotel. Poldark
Poldark
Poldark is a BBC television series based on the novels written by Winston Graham which was first transmitted in the UK between 1975 and 1977.-Outline:...
author Winston Graham
Winston Graham
Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE was an English novelist, best known for the The Poldark Novel series of historical fiction.-Biography:...
knew the town well and set his novel The Forgotten Story (1945) in Falmouth.
The town has been the setting for several films and television programmes. British film star Will Hay
Will Hay
William Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...
was a familiar face in Falmouth in 1935 whilst filming his comedy Windbag the Sailor
Windbag the Sailor
Windbag the Sailor is a British comedy film directed by William Beaudine, starring Will Hay in the title role. Ben Cutlet is a sea captain who entertains his bar room audience with tales of his days at sea, even though in reality his maritime experience extends only to navigating a coal barge...
. The movie had many scenes of the docks area. The docks area was featured in some scenes with John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
for the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic
Scott of the Antarctic (1948 film)
Scott of the Antarctic is a 1948 film about Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to be the first to the South Pole in Antarctica in 1910-12...
. Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
, Bobby Driscoll
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was an American child actor known for a large body of cinema and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of The Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures of that period, such as Song of the South , So Dear to My Heart , and Treasure Island...
and other cast members of the 1950 Walt Disney movie Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
, (some scenes were filmed along the river Fal), were visitors to the town. Stars from the BBC TV serial The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...
stayed in the town during filming in the late 1970s. In 2011 Paramount Pictures filmed parts of the movie World War Z
World War Z
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks. It is a follow-up to his 2003 book The Zombie Survival Guide. Rather than a grand overview or narrative, World War Z is a collection of individual accounts in the form of first-person anecdote...
starring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
in Falmouth Docks and off the coast.
The town has a football team in the South West Peninsula Premier League, Falmouth Town F.C., who play at Bickland Park in the south-west of the town, and also Falmouth RFC
Falmouth RFC
Falmouth RFC is a rugby union club based in the town of Falmouth, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The club plays at the Recreation Ground.Founded in 1873, Falmouth have been moderately successful, producing two players to have been capped by the England national rugby union team: E.J...
, a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club who play at The Recreation Ground,a site at the top of The Moor.
Falmouth has the first and last "Polytechnic": Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society is an educational, cultural and scientific charity, based in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Society exists to promote innovation in the arts and sciences...
.
The Falmouth Art Gallery
Falmouth Art Gallery
Falmouth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Cornwall, with one of the leading art collections in Cornwall and southwest England, which features work by old masters, major Victorian artists, British and French Impressionists, leading surrealists and maritime artists, children's book illustrators,...
is a public gallery with a diverse nineteenth century and twentieth century art collection including many notable modern Cornish artists exhibited in four to five seasonal exhibitions a year, as well as a "family friendly and free" community and schools education programme.
Recreation
With its proximity to sheltered and unsheltered waters, Falmouth has long been a popular boating and water sports location. Solo yachtsman Robert ManryRobert Manry
Robert Manry was a copy editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer who in 1965 sailed from Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth, Cornwall, England, in a tiny sailboat named Tinkerbelle...
crossed the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from Falmouth, Massachusetts to Falmouth, Cornwall from June–August 1965 in the thirteen and a half foot Tinkerbelle
Tinkerbelle
Tinkerbelle is a sailboat in which 47-year-old newspaperman Robert Manry, a copy editor at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, single-handedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1965. At the time, it was the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic nonstop...
- this was the smallest boat to make the crossing at the time. The town was the location for the 1998 Tall Ships' Race
The Tall Ships' Races
The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "tall ships" . The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a...
in which approximately ninety Tall Ships
Tall ship
A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....
set sail for Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
It also saw total coverage of the total eclipse of the Sun
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
at 11:11 a.m. on 11 August 1999, where this eclipse lasted just over two minutes - the longest duration in the UK.
Notable former and present residents
- W. J. BurleyW. J. BurleyWilliam John Burley was a British crime writer, best known for his books featuring the detective Charles Wycliffe, who became the basis of the popular Wycliffe television series throughout the mid 1990s....
, author, was born here. - George Chalmers, Civil EngineerCivil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, A.M.I.C.E.(1857–1924), born here. - Sebastian Coe, former middle-distance runner and politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
was the Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the area in the 1990s. - Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, 9 months in 1882 Short story, Youth - Thomas CorkerThomas CorkerThomas Corker was a prominent English agent for the Royal African Company and worked in the Sherbro, Sierra Leone.His descendants are still living in that area and are the Bonthe and Shenge Caulkers...
, Chief agent for the Royal African company in York Island, SherbroSherbroSherbro can refer to:* The Sherbro people in Sierra Leone* Sherbro Island, off the coast of Sierra Leone* Sherbro River in Sierra Leone* Short for Sherbrooke... - Fox family of FalmouthFox family of FalmouthThe Fox family of Falmouth, Cornwall, UK were very influential in the development of the town of Falmouth in the 19th century and of the Cornish Industrial Revolution...
- Charles Hartley (1825–1897) Founder of Palmerston NorthPalmerston NorthPalmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... - Tony KellowTony KellowAnthony "Tony" Kellow was an English-born professional footballer. He played as a forward and made over 400 Football League appearances in the 1970s and 1980s....
, striker with Exeter City FC; top goal scorer with 129 goals in his career - Steve McFaddenSteve McFaddenSteve McFadden is an English actor, known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since1990.-Early life:...
, actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
— plays Phil MitchellPhil MitchellPhilip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
in popular British soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End... - Paul Martin (TV presenter)Paul Martin (TV presenter)Paul Martin is the presenter of BBC antiques programme Flog It!. In 2009, he also hosted the series Trust Me, I'm a Dealer....
presenter of BBC antiques programme Flog It!Flog It!Flog It! is a television series broadcast on the BBC, presented by Paul Martin. The show follows a similar formula to Antiques Roadshow, with members of the public bringing their antiques to be viewed and valued by a team of experts... - Philip MelvillPhilip MelvillPhilip Melvill was a nineteenth century philanthropist of Falmouth, Cornwall .He was born in 1762 in Dunbar, in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland.-Military service:...
, philanthropist, whose name was used for a Falmouth road - David MuddDavid MuddWilliam David Mudd , known as David Mudd, is a British politician.He was Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne from 1970 until 1992, when he stood down. It was considered a surprise when he decided to stand in his old constituency in the 2005 general election as an independent candidate...
, TV presenter and politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was the Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the area in the 1970/80s - Tim RiceTim RiceSir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
, lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... - Hugh ScullyHugh ScullyHugh Scully , is a British television presenter. He is best known as the host of the BBC show Antiques Roadshow from 1981 to 2000.Scully joined the BBC in 1965 as a freelance journalist...
, TV presenter - Howard SpringHoward SpringHoward Spring was a Welsh author.He began his writing career as a journalist, but from 1934 produced a series of best-selling novels, the most successful of which was Fame is the Spur , which has been both a major film, starring Michael Redgrave, and a BBC television series , starring Tim...
, authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:... - Lovell SquireLovell SquireLovell Squire was a Quaker schoolteacher, meteorologist and writer of sacred verse.-Birth and education:He was born 8 May 1809 at Earith in Huntingdonshire, the son of Lovell Squire and Sarah . His mother was a Recorded Minister of the Religious Society of Friends...
, schoolteacher, climatologist, hymn-writer - John SterlingJohn Sterling (author)John Sterling , was a British author.He was born at Kames Castle on the Isle of Bute. He belonged to a family of Scottish origin which had settled in Ireland during the Cromwellian period...
(1806–1844), author - Richard ThomasRichard Thomas (Civil Engineer)Richard Thomas was an English civil engineer.He produced a survey of the navigation of the River Severn, he also created a geological map of the mining district of Cornwall in 1819 which went through several editions....
, Civil EngineerCivil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
— in 1815, he produced a survey of the navigation of the River SevernRiver SevernThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales... - Sam ToySam ToySam Toy OBE was an industrialist who was chair of Ford Motor Company UK from 1980 until 1986. He presided over Ford at a time it faced competition from British Leyland, and saw Ford make their last Cortina...
, industrialist and chairman of Ford of BritainFord of BritainFord of Britain is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Ford of Europe, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Its business started in 1909 and has its registered office in Brentwood, Essex...
, was educated at Falmouth Grammar School - Miles TredinnickMiles TredinnickMiles Tredinnick, also known as Riff Regan, is a rock musician, songwriter and a stage and screen writer. In the 1970s, he was the lead singer with the British rock band London. Afterwards he went on to write comedy plays for the stage...
, playwrightPlaywrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder... - Henry Scott TukeHenry Scott TukeHenry Scott Tuke, RA RWS , was a British visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is probably best known for his paintings of nude boys and young men....
, artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only... - Luke VibertLuke VibertLuke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...
, musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
(aka Wagon Christ, Plug, Amen Andrews, Kerrier District) - Craig WeatherhillCraig WeatherhillCraig Weatherhill is a Cornish author both of fiction and non-fiction works about Cornwall.-Biography:Raised in St Just in Penwith and then in Falmouth, after serving in the forces he developed a career in conservation and architecture. In his younger days, the 6' 3" Weatherhill was a goalkeeper,...
, historian and novelist
Fictional residents
- Richard BolithoRichard BolithoThe Bolitho novels are a series of nautical war novels written by Douglas Reeman . They focus on the military careers of Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho in the Royal Navy, from the time of the American Revolution past the Napoleonic Era.-Richard Bolitho:Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy...
— a fictional Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who was the main character in a series of books set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The books were written by Douglas ReemanDouglas ReemanDouglas Edward Reeman, born at Thames Ditton, is a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars....
(using the pseudonym "Alexander Kent"). - Ned, Perry and Madge - characters in the Winston GrahamWinston GrahamWinston Mawdsley Graham OBE was an English novelist, best known for the The Poldark Novel series of historical fiction.-Biography:...
book The Forgotten Story published in 1945. - The Walkers, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, from Arthur RansomeArthur RansomeArthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
's Swallows and AmazonsSwallows and AmazonsSwallows and Amazons is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome; it was first published in 1930, with the action taking place in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District...
lived in Falmouth when young, and learned to sail in the harbour there. - Falmouth Falcons: Falmouth is the home of a professional QuidditchQuidditchQuidditch is a fictional sport developed by British author J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter series of novels. It is described as an extremely rough, but very popular, semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world...
team operating within the fictional Harry Potter universeHarry Potter universeThe fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
. The Falmouth Falcons are one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that have been playing in the professional Quidditch League of BritainEarly Modern BritainEarly modern Britain is the history of the island of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the...
and IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
that was established in 1674. The team players wear dark-grey and white robes emblazoned with a falcon-head across the chest. Known for playing rough, their motto is “Let us win, but if we cannot win, lets us break a few heads”.
Twinning
-
Douarnenez, BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... -
RotenburgRotenburg an der WümmeRotenburg an der Wümme is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg.-Geography:...
, Lower SaxonyLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
See also
- List of topics related to Cornwall
- All Saints' Church, FalmouthAll Saints' Church, FalmouthAll Saints' Church, Falmouth is a parish church in the Church of England located in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom.-History:The foundation stone for this church was laid by the Duke of Cornwall in 1887. It was designed by the architect J. D. Sedding in the Gothic Revival style...
- St. Michael and All Angels Church, PenwerrisSt. Michael and All Angels Church, PenwerrisSt Michael and All Angels Church, Penwerris is a parish church of the Church of England located in Penwerris, near Falmouth, Cornwall. The church is Anglo-Catholic and under the care of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet rather than the diocesean bishop....
- Falmouth SynagogueFalmouth SynagogueFalmouth Synagogue was the primary synagogue of the Jewish community of Falmouth, Cornwall. The Synagogue building still stands and located on Gyllyng Street overlooking the harbour, commemorated by a plaque, whilst a Jewish cemetery near Penryn, also remains....
- Cornish and Breton twin townsCornish and Breton twin townsThe following table lists the names of Breton communities which have concluded town twinning agreements with communities in Cornwall:-External links:*...
External links
- Official Website for Falmouth
- Falmouth Town Council
- National Maritime Museum Cornwall
- Falmouth Harbour Commissioners
- University College Falmouth
- Online Catalogue for Falmouth at the Cornwall Record OfficeCornwall Record OfficeCornwall Record Office , part of Cornwall Council, is situated at Old County Hall in Truro and is the main repository for the historical archives of Cornwall....
- GENUKI article on Falmouth
- Falmouth Art Gallery
- Postcards of Falmouth