Falmouth Town

Nearby places

Falmouth, King Charles

Falmouth, King Charles parish (Cornish: Aberfal Myghtern Charles) was formed from the older parish of Budock in 1661. The parish is on a peninsula and occupies the old town area. Falmouth is located at the west side of the entrance to Carrick Roads, a large natural harbour on the south coast of Cornwall fed by the River Fal. Henry VIII built a fort here at Pendennis Point and another on the opposite shore at St. Mawes, both of which are still in excellent condition. Falmouth is the largest port in Cornwall whose real prosperity began in 1688 when it became a Post Office packet station. Brigantines sailed with mail to Spain, Portugal, West Indies and North American Colonies until 1852, when mail traffic was transferred to Southampton. The port and shopping area are on the north side of the peninsula, while on the south coast are sandy beaches and hotels. Today Falmouth is a combined holiday resort, fishing port and ship repairing centre. Ambitious plans to transform the waterfront will no doubt increase it's attractions as a tourism centre in the future. The Church of King Charles the Martyr lies on the main street running through the town.

Falmouth King Charles is the main parish Church for the town of Falmouth

Archives & Libraries

The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall
Discovery Quay
Falmouth
Cornwall
TR11 3QY

Tel.: +44(0)1326 313388; Email:enquiries@nmmc.co.uk.

The Museum contains the Bartlett Library which makes available key maritime reference books, which are necessary to trace the maritime achievements of Cornish men and women. The Library includes an extensive run of Lloyd's Registers from 1764 to 2002. Archive material includes the Falmouth Harbourmaster's Daily Records from 1880 to 1990. In addition, there are several databases, the most important of which covers all vessels built in Cornwall between 1776 and 1914. The Library also includes the Martime Censuses of Falmouth.

The Library will undertake research for enquirers, although the cost of extensive research will be charged. Entry to the Library is free and it is normally opened five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm. The telephone number of the Library is: +44(0)1326 214579.

Cemeteries

Whilst there are burials at the church, most parishioners were interred at the municipal cemetery of Falmouth, which is at Swanpool.

Census

See under Falmouth Town.

Church History

The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW8032 and was dedicated to King Charles the Martyr in 1665. It must be remembered that in the early 1600's there were no more than eight houses in Falmouth, and by 1665 this number had increased to only 200. Even as late as 1721 no house lay to the west of Market Street and no road was made up the moor. Sir Peter Killigrew in 1660 planned his church to be the centre of what he envisaged as a growing town, and this has come about in the church's three hundred years of history, with Falmouth's building estates now reaching out towards the parish of Budock.

On August the 29 1662, Sir Peter measured out the ground which was to be devoted to the Church and a ministers house and workers began to dig the foundations. The building was finished on February 21st, 1664 having taken only 18 months to complete. The first sermon was preached in the finished Church by John Bedford, who was appointed as the first rector, his chosen as his text being: Gen: 33; 20 etc. On March 17 1663 the first sacrements were administered, and on August 22nd, 1665, the church was consecrated by Dr Seth Ward, Lord Bishop of Exeter. It was built at the expense of King Charles II, the Duke of York (later James II) and other distinguished persons. in memory of their father - the executed King Charles I.

The Records show that on the 26 November 1664 James Prowse, Gent, was the first to be buried in the Churchyard. The Rector John Bedford was forbidden to bury anyone else because the ground was not consecrated. On April the following year, he was permitted to resume burials by The Most Reverend C T Gilbert, Archbishop of Cantabury, and the Right Reverand ct Seth Bishop of Exon (Exeter). From 1663 to 1877 the parish was part of the Diocese of Exeter; from 1877 onwards it became part of the Diocese of Truro.

The church comprises a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, north, south and west galleries, and a vestry. The central roof is supported by eight lofty Ionic columns of granite, four on each side, assisted by wooden pillars. In 1684 extensions were made to the east and west. A chancel was added and the lowest part of the tower was built. In 1695 a gallery was built at the west end at the joint cost of Sir Peter Killigrew and Mr Bryan Rogers; also in that year, another gallery was built on the north aisle by voluntary contributions, and in 1702 one was built in the south aisle. An organ was erected in 1703 which was replaced in 1798. The tower was raised another stage in 1738 when it acquired a 12-hundredweight bell, and was raised again by another stage in 1800 for the reception of a clock. Three additional bells were added in 1861. The tower is finished with battlements and pinnacles.

The population of Falmouth had grown to about 7000 by 1813, so the 1684 chancel was demolished. At the same time, the church was lengthened eastward by one-third of its whole length, and the chancel was then rebuilt. In 1861, the flooring of the church was renovated. In 1896 another major reconstruction began. The three pitched roofs and the galleries were removed and the walls raised. Three new barrel ceilings in ornamental plaster work were installed. The building was back in use within a year. An organ chamber was installed in 1915, when the previous space occupied by the organ became the Warrior Chapel. A new window was added to this chapel which was dedicated as a war memorial in 1928. A baptistry was formed in 1936.

There are a south door, a north porch, a priest's door and a vestry door. The bells have now been replaced by an eight-bell carillon.
Details about the plans of the existing church are available on-line.

Church Records

• The Church Registers consist of a total of 8 volumes. Vol. 1 contains Marriages 1664-1735; Baptsms, 1663-1735; Burials 1664-1735. ....Vol.2 Marriages 1736-1754; Baptsms 1736-1781; Burials, 1736-1780....Vol. 3 Marriages, 1754-1769 (printed forms) "According to Act of Pariament 1754. Vol.4 marriages 1769-1782. Vol.5 Baptisms 1781-1802; Burials 1780-1812. Vol. 6 Marriages 1782-1803. Vol.7 Baptisms 1803-1812. Vol.Marriages, 1803-1812.
  
  These Registers commenced a hundred years later than many others but are important since they concern not only a leading Cornish town but the leading Packet Station of the British Isles. Because of this, many names occur which are linked to various other places including many foreign countries.
  
  The first of the eight volumes, all of which have been transcribed, is written on parchment leaves. it is a folio seventeen inches long by thirteen wide, an inch and a half in thickness, bound in rough brown leather, with a stamped gilt title:- "Falmouth Register, 1660 to 1734", on the front cover. The other volumes are of oblong shape, of varying degrees of thickness, bound in calf, the contents of which are easily noted by using the publication produced by the Devon and Cornwall Record Society (DCRS) in 1915. All the entries made from the start of the registers until 1752 were based on the old way of Computing the year - from 25th March to 24th March. Thus we find that on the 16th of January 1712 Mary d. of John Roach was buried, whilst on August 3rd 1712 we find her birth recorded, since since 1712 goes on until March 25th when 1713 begins.
  
  In the case of an alias both surnames are indexed in the DCRS. The use of an alias arose sometimes from the mothers family being superior to the fathers, and therefore preferred. But more often it was a persona; or family nickname, and at times it was an attempt on the part of a topobnymic name to oust the more recent parronymic type of name. The spelling of the same name frequently differs in the entries. Sometimes a letter is left out, or one is added, and occasionally the entire spelling is phonetic in character, though the name can be guessed with accruacy. Thus "Calker" is afterwards spelt "Corker", "Nickols" becomes "Nichols" and "Hoskyng" becomes Hoskin.
  
  
  • The letters "ij" indicates "y" in early entries and "u" is interchangeable with "v" as in Jvne.
  • The word mariner frequently occurs in the records. This did not at the time signify a seaman, but the captain of any small or large vessel short of an East Indiaman, the captain of which was usually styled a "commander". The term therefore had a wide range and included both the educated and uneducated. Just how Falmouth depended upon the sea is demonstrated by the record of marriages for the year 1758. In that year there were a total of 43 marriages of which 19 gave their profession as Mariner.
  • In the original Registers there is a gradual change in the signatures of married couples, how the "mark" or cross becomes less frequent and the name is more often written, and the spelling becomes more uniform as education increases. The signatures of the women, who were denied education for so long in the eighteenth century slowly follows suit, until correct spelling became the norm along with a decent hand writing style. (Courtesy of Sandra Prichard).
• Cornwall Record Office holdings: Deposited original registers 1663 - 1900, Baptisms 1663 - 1900, Burials 1663 - 1900, Marriages 1663 - 1900, Boyd's Marriage Index 1663 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1790 - 1812, Non-Conformist Records 1783 - 1837.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
  • Pre 1813 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Burials

Civil Registration

The ecclesiastical parish is part of Falmouth Town for civil purposes.

Description & Travel

• ePodunk's Cornwall page - providing general, plus some historical and genealogical information, about Cornwall and its parishes, together with links (mainly relating to general sites and services, rather than ones that are specific to Cornwall or particular parishes).
• Photographs of Falmouth (including King Charles Church) are available on-line.

Genealogy

The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is available on-line, from where the OPC can be contacted by email.

Maps

• Map of the Falmouth Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Falmouth in the 19th century is also available.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

The Falmouth parishes were part of the Falmouth Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

Population

Statistics

The parish comprises 1180 acres of land.

Return to top of page

Are you lost in the GENUKI hierarchy or arrived here from a Search Engine?
If so, use the up-arrow(s) at the top of the page to go up the hierarchy.

Copyright and Disclaimer The information on the GENUKI (www.genuki.org.uk) website must not be used for commercial purposes, and all specific restrictions concerning usage, copyright notices, etc., that are to be found on individual information pages within GENUKI must be strictly adhered to. Violation of these rules could gravely harm the cooperation that GENUKI is obtaining from many information providers, and hence threaten its whole future. Whilst we take every care to keep the information on our web pages accurate, we disclaim any warranty or representation, express or implied about its accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for a particular purpose. Thus, you assume full responsibility for its use, and you understand and agree that neither GENUKI as an organisation nor any of its maintainers or providers are responsible or liable for any claim, loss or damage as a consequence. GENUKI contains many hyperlinks and directives to sites developed by others. They are provided for your convenience only. We do not control nor guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of such sites, and in the event of a link to such a site being 'broken', or otherwise unavailable, our only recourse is to remove that link. Thank you for your cooperation. GENUKI is a registered trademark of the charitable trust GENUKI - see About GENUKI as an Organisation.