FALMOUTH, a parish in the hundred of KERRIER, county of CORNWALL, comprising the sea-port and market-town of Falmouth, which possesses exclusive jurisdiction, and containing 6374 inhabitants, exclusively of a portion of the parish of Budock, which extends into Falmouth, in which there Arms. are 4392 persons, 54 miles (S.W.) from Launceston, and 267 (W.S.W.) from London. The name of this place is derived from its situation at the mouth of the river Fal: the origin of the town may be dated subsequently to the year 1600, but the haven was well known long before that period, and resorted to by ships bound for British ports, having been considered one of the most secure and -commodious in Great Britain. The earliest mention of it in history occurs in the reign of Henry IV., when the Duchess Dowager of Bretagne landed here on her arrival in England, to celebrate her nuptials with that monarch. Until 1613 there was only a single house "of entertainment for sea-faring persons, and perhaps a few fishermen's cottages on the site of the present town, at which period John (afterwards Sir John) Killigrew, to whom the ground belonged, began to build several new houses, and met with much opposition from the corporations of Penryn, Truro, and Helston, who united to petition King James against the work, stating the evil consequences they anticipated to their own interests, should a town be built at Falmouth harbour. The matter was referred to the lords of the council, and by them decided in Killigrew's favour j the buildings therefore proceeded rapidly, and the town soon became a place of great trade. Soon after 1670, Sir Peter Killigrew, Bart, constructed a new quay, and procured an act of parliament to secure certain duties to be paid to himself and his heirs; and the subsequent establishment of the post-office packets to Lisbon, the West Indies, &c., contributed much to the increasing prosperity of the place. In 1664, the houses in Falmouth amounted to two hun- dred; before 1700, they had increased to nearly three hundred and fifty; about 1750, to between five and six hundred; and, in 1811, there were 647 inhabited houses in the town and suburbs within the parish, exclusively of seventy-two in the adjoining parish of Budock. In its infancy this town was called Smithick, under which appellation it is mentioned in a resolution of the House of Commons, in January, 1653, appointing a weekly market; the first record which mentions the name of Falmouth is the charter of incorporation, bearing date 1661. It was made a separate parish in 1664, having up to that period been a part of Budock, a portion of which still extends into this town. The town is agreeably situated on the south-western Shore of that branch of the harbour which stretches to Peuryn, and consists principally of one main street, which, under different names, extends about a mile in length, paved, well lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water. The buildings in general are modern and have a neat appearance; behind are rising . grounds which overlook the harbour and the town. On each side of the entrance to the harbour are the castles of St. Mawes and Pendennis; the latter, which is on the western side, being built upon a peninsular eminence, two miles in circumference at the base, and rising upwards of three hundred feet above the level of the -sea, has a very majestic appearance: it is strongly fortified, and contains commodious barracks, storehouses, and magazines, with apartments for the lieutenant- governor. The castle of St. Mawes, on the opposite side, in the parish of St. Just, is inferior, both in size and situation. There are reading and billiardrooms and. a theatre: a musical society, called the Philharmonic Society, has been established. The trade of Falmouth, from its advantageous position, soon became extensive, and it is now one of the principal ports in the West of England, being scarcely inferior to any in its advantages as a rendezvous for outward and homeward. bound fleets. In many . instances, vessels have made their voyage from this harbour, while those from Plymouth and Portsmouth have been forced back by contrary winds, before they could reach the mouth of the channel: outward bound ships from Liverpool, Bristol, Greenock, &c. rendezvous here to join convoy, and thus avoid a tedious navigation up and down the channel; while, for a similar reason, the masters and supercargoes of homeward bound vessels call to ascertain the state of the British and continental markets, or to receive orders from, their owners or correspondents for regulating their further proceedings. This port has for many years carried on a very extensive foreign trade; it was one of the first ports in the western counties to which the privileges of the bonding act were extended, and is the only tobacco port in the counties of Cornwall and Devon: its jurisdiction extends from Helford river westward, to the Deadman point eastward. The imports are,-from America, wood, wheat, flour, staves, rice, &c.; from Spain and Portugal, fruit, wine, wool, salt, &c.-j from Holland, oak-bark, grain, &c.; from Russia and the north of Europe, hemp, tallow, tar, pitch, iron, linen, sail-cloth, timber, and occasionally grain; from the Mediterranean, fruit, oil, silk, &c.; from France, grain, flour, fruit, wine and brandy; and from Ireland, salt provisions, flour, feathers, &c. It formerly exported a great quantity of pressed pilchards to the West Indies and Italy; but this fish has lately been very scarce; the exports now chiefly consist of the produce of the tin and copper mines and manufactories, and of wine, brandy, &c., which had been imported under the bonding act; there is also a considerable trade with Jersey iji fruit and cider. A quantity of mining apparatus and hardware has been exported hence to the Brazilian an4 Mexican mines. The number of vessels that entered inwards from foreign ports in 1826 was, forty-seven British, and ten foreign; and the number that cleared outwards, twenty-eight British. Several regular trading vessels from Falmouth to London, Bristol, Ireland, &c., bring in large supplies of grocery, ship chandlery, &c., and take in return to London a quantity of tin, &c. Falmouth is supposed to have become a station for post-office packets about the year 1688; the preseiit establishment consists of five packets on the Lisbon station, and thirty-four to other parts of the world. At Falmouth and St. Mawes there was formerly a very extensive pilchard fishery, fourteen thousand hogsheads having been exported hence in one season j but from the decrease of fish, little has been done for the last two years. Here is some employment in ship-building and rope-making. Markets are held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, for butchers meat, fish, and other provisions; and there are two fairs, on August 7th and October 10th, for cattle. The market-house was built in 1S13, at the expense of Lord Wodehouse, and has a fountain of spring water in the centre. This town was incorporated by charter of Charles II., in 1661; the municipal body consists of a mayor, seven aldermen, twelve burgesses, with a recorder and town clerk; the latter officers are appointed by the King, on the petition of the corporation; the Serjeants at mace and constables are appointed by the corporation. The mayor is elected from the aldermen, and the aldermen, from the burgesses, by a majority of the whole body. They hold a court of quarter session by charter; and a court of record, for sums not exceeding one hundred marks, was appointed by the charter to be held every second Thursday before the mayor, recorder, and aldermen, or their deputies, or any three of them; its jurisdiction extends only to the town itself, but this court has not been held since May, 1785. The mayor, his predecessor, and the recorder, are by charter justices of the peace, with exclusive jurisdiction. The county magistrates meet at the Green Bank hotel on the second Thursday in every month, to hold a petty session for the eastern division of the hundred of Kerrier. The living is a rectory, in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Bishop of Exeter, rated in the king's books at £3, and in the patronage of Lord Wodehouse. The church, built soon after the Restoration, and dedicated to the memory of Charles I., " King and Martyr," was made parochial in 1664, by act of parliament. A handsome chapel of ease was erected about two years since, by private subscription, and a grant from the Incorporated Society for the enlargement of churches, &c., at the north-west end of the town, within the parish of Budock; the site was presented by Lord de Dunstanville. There are places of worship for Baptists, Bryanites, the Society of Friends, Independents, Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians, likewise a synagogue, and a neat Roman Catholic chapel, the latter built in 1820. Here are classical and mathematical schools for one hundred boys, established in ] 825, by the subscriptions of seventy-five shareholders, at £ 15 each, whose property is vested in fifteen trustees; the ground for the institution was given by Lord Wodehouse. Extensive charitable institutions for educating the children of the poor are supported by voluntary contributions; the principal are, a school on the National plan, established about the year 1801, in which thirty boys and thirty girls are clothed and instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the latter in needle-work; a Sunday school connected with the church, in which about three hundred children are taught; a Lancasterian school for sixty girls, instituted in 1811, supported by general subscription, but patronised chiefly by some ladies of the Society of Friends; one of a similar kind, for from two hundred to two hundred and fifty boys, established also under the direction of the Society of Friends; besides some infant schools. The merchants hospital, for the relief and support of maimed and disabled seamen belonging to the port of London, and the widows and! children of such as should be killed or drowned in the merchants service,, was established here about -.1750, . under the powers of an act of parliament passed inthe 20th of George II., authorising any out-port, desirpus of establishing an hospital for seamen belonging to such port, to appoint fifteen trustees for its management, who are annually elected by the owners and commanders of vessels belonging to the port, and confirmed by the corporation in London, established under the same act:- a treasurer, receiver, and secretary, are appointed by the trustees, who meet monthly at the packet office to transact business. The present income of this hospital is about £300 per annum; the regular pensioners, widows and children of deceased mariners, who receive relief, are numerous. All merchant ships and packets registered at this port claim a right for their, seamen, on payment of sixpence per month each, to the benefits of the establishment. The widows retreat, an almshouse containing ten small rooms, for the residence of as many poor widows, was erected in 1810, at the expense of Lord Wodehouse. A dispensary was established about the year 1807, and soon afterwards a benevolent society for the relief of the poor, and especially of strangers, under the management of a visiting committee; to facilitate their examination of cases, the town is divided into several districts. In 1800, a lying-in charity was established 3 in 1812, a humane society; and in 1817 a provident society and savings bank: in addition to these are several benefit societies and masonic lodges. The interest of £300 three per cent, consols, was bequeathed by the late Mrs. Daval, of Chiswick, to be applied alternately to the relief of poor widows, and apprenticing the son of a poor widow. Near Pendennis are the remains of an intrenchment made by Cromwell during the civil war. Falmouth confers the title of earl on the family of Boscawen of Tregothnan. Dunstanville Terrace, or Green Bank, is an appendage of this town, but situated in the parish of Budock.