Falmouth

Falmouth, a parliamentary and municipal borough and seaport of Cornwall, on the southern side of the estuary of the Fal, 18 miles NNE. of the Lizard, and 66 by rail WSW. of Plymouth. It chiefly consists of a narrow street, a mile long, with suburban terraces and villas on the heights behind; and it has a branch-railway (1863), a polytechnic society (1833), and a town-hall (1866). The harbour, one of the best in England, is 5 miles long by 1 to 2 miles wide, and 12 to 18 fathoms deep. The entrance is defended on the west by Pendennis Castle (c. 1538-44), which crowns a rock 198 feet high, and which in 1646 surrendered to Fairfax after a five months' siege; on the east, by St Mawes Castle (1543). Pop. of the municipal borough (1851) 4953; (1891) 4273; but as extended in 1892, 12,665; of the parliamentary borough, including Penryn, and since 1885 returning only one member, 17,454. From 1688 to 1850 Falmouth was one of the principal packet-stations for foreign mails. There is a considerable pilchard-fishery off the neighbouring coasts. The chief exports are tin, copper, pilchards, and fuel. Here orange and lemon trees yield plenty of fruit on open garden-walls. Falmouth has arisen since 1613, Sir Walter Raleigh having drawn notice to its capabilities. Charles II. incorporated it in 1661; and at one time it was a stronghold of Quakerism. See The River Fal and Falmouth, by C. J. (Truro, 1876), and Caroline Fox's Memoirs of Old Friends (1882).