Falmouth Docks
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Falmouth Docks are a deep-water docks of the town of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The docks are served by the Falmouth Docks railway station. Policing is by the Falmouth Docks Police.
| Falmouth Docks | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location in Cornwall | |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Location | Falmouth, Cornwall |
| Coordinates | 50°09′09″N 5°03′20″W / 50.1525°N 5.0555°W |
| Details | |
| Owned by | Falmouth Docks & Engineering Co Ltd |
Location
Falmouth Docks are built on the northern shore of Pendennis Point, on the estuary of the River Fal which is also known as Carrick Roads. On the southern side of the docks are Falmouth Docks Railway Station and the terminus of the A39 road.[1]
History
The Falmouth Docks Company was formed after a meeting in Falmouth Town Hall on 31 May 1858 with the aim of keeping the Packet Service by providing facilities for the new steam-driven ships. A natural feature known as Bar Point extended northwards from Pendennis towards Trefusis Point and the docks was planned covering an area of 150 acres (61 ha). The shallow water was dredged by the Briton and by 1860 a channel of deep water 300 feet (91 m) wide linked the docks with deep water in Carrick Roads. The foundation stone was laid on 28 February 1860 by Lord Falmouth. The is no trace of the stone today. By 1862 No 1 Graving Dock was built along with a warehouse, known as the grain store, which can still be seen.[2]
The Grain Store built between 1860 and 1862 of killas rubble, rock-faced granite dressings and granite-coped parapet with Delabole slate roof. The interior retains the original cross-beam and joust floor structures. The store was listed as grade II on 23 January 1973 with amendments on 24 April 1996.[3]
In 1863 the Eastern Breakwater was built and No 2 Dock opened a year later, receiving its first cargo of china clay, which was loaded from trains. The Falmouth Dock Company had its own railway which connected with the Cornwall Railway which opened the line from Truro to Falmouth in January 1864.[2] The original rail was broad gauge, being converted to narrow gauge in 1892.[4]
The Directors originally borrowed £50,000 from the Public Works Loan Commissioners at 3.25% and had to borrow a further £20,000 in 1864. In the following year the Western Breakwater collapsed and disappeared from sight, and on 11 May 1866 (on a day known as Black Friday or the Panic of 1866) the Bank of England inceased interest rates to 10%. Work on the docks was suspended. The Eastern Breakwater was damaged during a ″hurricane″ in January 1867 and in March of the same year the crew abandoned the brig Uhla which dragged along the same breakwater diplacing many piles. By the end of the year the directors handed over possession to the Public Works Loans Commisioners. The breakwater was repaired for £8,500 in 1869.[2]
The Admiralty took over the docks during the First World War and built No 3 Dock, which was larger than the previous two. Due to the German submarine offensive, ship-repair was of enormous stategic importance but the facilities and workforce was unable to deal with the added workload. A London firm of ship-repairers R H Green and Silley Weir sent men to help clear the backlog and their managing director realising the potential of Falmouth bought the dockyard in 1918. Under a new name of Silley Cox and Co, new workshops were built, new machinery installed and skilled workman imported from London. Ship-building was a major activity until 1920s, by which time 198 vessels had been built.[5] A fourth dock was opened in 1928 and new wharves built on the western side of the Western Breakwater. They were Empire (1931–33), King's (1935–37) and Queen's (1938–42).[2] The largest dry dock is the enlarged No 2 Dock, renamed Queen Elizabeth Dock, which was opened, by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1958. This new dock was 850 feet (260 m) in length and able to take the largest ship, then built, at 85,000 tons.[5]
Sport
Falmouth Docks AFC played in the Cornwall Combination League from 1960 to 1985 winning the league in season 1969–70 and losing the league cup final to Porthleven in 1962–63.[6][7]
References
- ^ OS Explorer 103. The Lizard (Map). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 9 780319 243053.
- ^ a b c d Gibson, Peter (2002). Britain In Old Photographs. Falmouth. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Limited. pp. 85–96. ISBN 0 7509 3068 3.
- ^ "Warehouse occupied by Bridon Ropes Limited (The Grain Store)". Historic England. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Woodfin, R J (1972). The Cornwall Railway To Its Centenary In 1959. Truro: Bradford Barton. p. 20.
- ^ a b Acton, Bob (2003). Landfall Walks Books No 3. Around The Fal. Devoran: Landfall Publications. pp. 9–10. ISBN 1 873443 46 3.
- ^ "Falmouth Docks League Record". Cornwall Combination League. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "Falmouth Docks Cup Record". Cornwall Combination League. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
Further reading
David Barnicoat Sailing Ship to Super Liner: Falmouth Docks, 1860-2010; 150 years of service to the shipping industry, Seaman Publications, 2010 ISBN 978-0-9558914-1-0.