FALMOUTH, a sea-port town of England in Cornwall, of modern erection, its charter being granted by Charles II. in 1661. Its rise and increase has been altogether ow ing to the progress of commerce, and particularly to the establishment of packet boats for America, the West In dies, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, &c. Its harbour is accoun ted the finest in England, next to Plymouth and Milford Haven, and being land-locked, it affords complete protec tion in tempestuous weather. The town, situated at the bottom of an eminence which commands the harbour, con sists of one street, nearly a mile in length, extending along the side of the beach. The pilchard trade is an object of considerable importance to this as well as to other parts of Cornwall. Pendennis castle, a building of much older date than the town of Falmouth, stands on a lofty rock, joined to the main-land by a narrow neck, and defends the west entrance into the harbour. The rock is three hun dred feet above the sea, and appears to rise from the bay like an island. This fortification was begun by Henry VIII. and improved in some measure by Elizabeth, but more by Oliver Cromwell, having been much damaged during the civil war. It is now modernized, and mounted with seventy pieces of cannon. St M awe's castle is a much smaller and less remarkable erection, standing on the eas tern side of Falmouth harbour, and tracing its origin like wise to Henry VIII. The houses in the neighbourhood, though few in number, constitute a Cornish borough, while Falmouth, in consequence of its comparative recency of growth, is unrepresented in parliament.
Outside of Falmouth harbour there is a safe and commo dious roadstead for vessels of the largest size. It is the opinion of many naval men, that the value of Falmouth, as a seaport, is not yet fully known. Its great advantage lies in its easy egress to the Western Ocean, the difficulty of which from Portsmouth, and even from Plymouth, is ex perienced every season by our outward bound vessels. Now from Falmouth the distance to the Lands-end is less than from the Thames to the south Foreland : there are neither shoals nor sand banks by the way, and it is highly impor tant to consider, that the French side of the Channel ter minates on the meridian of Falmouth, so that if a vessel going from that port gains a league of westing in her southward progress, she is forthwith received by the ocean.
Were the wind to get round to the westward the clay after her leaving Falmouth, the vessel has still a clear course of more than four hundred miles to the southward before meeting with land, viz. the north-east coast of Spain. The difficulty of getting into the ocean from Portsmouth or Ply mouth, will be apparent on computing the small number of days in the year during which the wind is fair to come down the Channel. On examining a diary, we shall find that sixty or seventy days in the twelve-month arc rather above than below the average. In 1808 the expedition under Sir David Baird sailed from Falmouth on the 9th or October, and entered Corunna on the 15th ; but two trans ports leaving Plymouth the same (lay for a similar destina tion, got no farther than Falmouth by the time the expe dition was on the coast of Spain. In 1811, the Menelaus frigate, bound on a special service to the Mediterranean, was detained at Plymouth at the time that time packets were kept at Falmouth by contrary winds. On the 27th October, the wind becoming northerly, the frigate and packets sailed from their respective anchorages ; seven'of the packets proceeded in spite of wind and weather, while the Menelaus and the two other packets were forced back. The principal objection to Falmout5 is the difficulty of get ting out during the prevalence of south-east winds ; but these are of rare occurrence compared with the south-west winds, which form the great impediment to coming down the Channel. It is however to be acknowledged, that the remote situation of Falmouth, and the degree of hazard to an enterprizing enemy who might venture on an attack, is an objection to rendering it an arsenal or a dock-yard.
The following is the statistical abstract for the town of 'Falmouth for 1811: Males 1453 Females 2480 Total population in 1811 3933 'SV. Long. 5° 2' 5", N. Lat. 8', according to trigonome trical observations. See Beauties of England and Wales, vol. ii. p.442 ; and Manderson's Letters on Falmouth. (x,)