ABSTRACT
T maritime trade. Ship’s masters who had been at sea for many months headed straight to ‘Falmouth for orders’, to report their safe arrival and get instructions on which port to take their cargo. Given the natural advantage of its deep-water harbour, it is perhaps surprising that Falmouth only really dates back 400 years. Its history reflects the rise of British sea power and its layout and character are rooted in this maritime legacy. So to understand Falmouth you need to do what those sailors did and get out onto the water. Head out on any of the small ferries to the nearby villages of St Mawes, Mylor or Flushing and your sense of scale shifts. In the world of the Fal estuary, Falmouth becomes the big town. In one sweep from right to left, the town’s story is laid out, from the elegant Georgian homes of those ship’s captains upriver down through the stone and slate town wharves and waterside pubs to new developments at Discovery Quay and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, and finally the busy commercial and naval dockyards. From the sea, you get a better view too of the rows of terraced houses climbing past the railway station towards the town’s long sandy beaches of Gyllyngvase, Swanpool and Maenporth, hidden from town beyond the headland of Fort Pendennis. Back on land, the sinuous stone-fronted main street changes its name several times as it progresses past some of the usual features of a Cornish town: the tall granite tower of the town church, the Seven Stars pub, pasty shops, art galleries and surf shops amongst the factory outlets and a new Wilkinson’s plugging the gap where Woolworth’s once stood. There are some distinctively Falmouth landmarks too, such as the King’s Pipe, a tall brick chimney where contraband tobacco was burned, and the 19th-century headquarters of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, which is now the Poly Arts Centre. Established by the Quaker Anna Maria Fox, the Poly is doubly responsible for the cultural dynamism in town. In 1902 an art college was founded as an offshoot of the Poly, and just over a century later it became a university, making considerable investment in a campus above town and sealing Falmouth’s reputation as a creative hub. Not all the students in town are artists. Falmouth Marine School, part of Cornwall
College, can also trace its roots back a century and continues the local maritime traditions. Falmouth still earns its living from its maritime location. 1,400 of its 20,000 people are employed in the docks, building and repairing ships and super-yachts, in businesses that are internationally competitive. Its remoteness from London has meant that Falmouth has always been keen to manage its own affairs. The town’s first resident royal agents, the Killigrews, husbanded the profits of trade to the benefit of the town far from the gaze of London. The same spirit today sees businesses, community groups, educational institutions and councils taking a practical approach to working with limited resources through the Town Forum and Business Improvement District. When tourism funding was withdrawn, the local partnership set up its own Visitor Information Centre. This has taken over promotion, events and marketing with initiatives such as the Mussel Card for local ferries and buses. These activities serve visitors and locals, adding to the quality of life for the whole town. This led to investment in new shops and restaurants, including an outpost of the Padstow Stein empire, alongside independent shops and cafes. Falmouth achieves what many towns strive for – a clear and shared vision, with a focus on sustainable growth and a distinctive identity that seems to be able to buck the trend experienced in other peripheral places. Falmouth may be a long way from our big cities, but it’s far from being a backwater.
