The port of Falmouth and the Carreg Road was a natural choice for the British navy to base two squadrons of ships and it's packet boat service here for two good reasons: Firstly, because Falmouth is the third largest, natural, deep-water port in the world. Secondly, it is the closest port to the open Atlantic Ocean and therefore the first point of contact for ships from or bound for the rest of the world.
The Falmouth Packet Service operated for over 160 years between the port and all of the British empire's major holdings overseas; especially the major ports up and down the eastern seaboard of North America, including Halifax, Boston, New York and Charleston.
The ports and bases in the Caribbean and Mediterranean were also served until 1851 when the service was over=hauled and stopped.
Packet ships occasionally carried passengers but most especially mail and naval orders and reports to and from Britain's growing empire. At its peak, at the end of the 18th century there were about forty Packet ships in service. Packet ships which were privately owned were licenced by the government.
Perhaps the most famous packet ship of all was the Pickles which won the race to bring home to Britain the news of Lord Horatio Nelson's death after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
To this day, the Carreg Roads are still used to harbour large ocean-going ships and Falmouth continues to be a Naval dockyard hosting British and overseas naval vessels.
The chart presented here also includes an inset of the delightful Helford Sound with a sailing view to match the one of the entrance to Falmouth on the norther section. Both of these charts are part of a larger survey of the area produced at the same time.
For more on modern-day Falmouth see the Heritage Charts Logbook article.
