Falmouth Packet Archives (1688-1850)
 1.00: Sources Repositories |
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 Bold text =Light text =1.08 Newspapers
1.09 Books
1.10 Online
1.11 Other
2: Postal
2.04 Overland
2.05 Rates
2.06 Ship’s Letters
2.07 Foreign PO’s
2.08 Societies
2.09 Other
3: Packets
3.09 Routes
3.10 Rules
3.11 Losses
3.12 French
3.13 Spanish
3.14 American
3.15 Other
4: Databases
4.01 Text Cuttings
4.02 Voyages
4.03 Images
4.04 Bibliography
4.05 Searches
5. Topics
5.01 The Navy
5.02 Ship Design
5.03 Convoys
5.04 Smuggling
4.06 Genealogy
4.07 Philatelic
4.08 Patents
4.09
6: Social History
6.01 Falmouth
6.02 Flushing
6.03 Cornwall
6.04 England
6.05 Colonial
6.06 America
6.07 Other
7: Post-1850
7.01 The Docks
7.02 Tall-ships
7.03 Port Services
7.04 Quay Punts
7.05 Steam Tugs
7.06 Tourism
7.07 General
8: New Era
8.01 CMM
8.02 Tourism
8.03 Replicas?
8.04 Education
8.05 F.A.Q’s
8.06
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Link to on-line Website
Links to another page on this site
Information on this site consists of digital archives collated from a wide selection of sources and is designed to be a searchable guide to references sources.
Please accept errors and omissions as the cost of trying to improve the system of tracing and collating data.
Repositories, UK and foreign, are invited to assist the development of this site by highlighting the collections they own which are most likely to attract visitors via links from pages on this site. I only suggest repositories based on personal experience in finding useful, packet-related, data.
Whilst most of the contents of this site originate from material in the public domain, every effort is made to ensure copyright holders/owners’ rights are respected. Please e-mail notice of errors or omissions to: falmouth.packet.archives@dial.pipex.com
The Post Office Postal and maritime history dominates the theme of this site.
I am not a philatelist but hope there are enough references to be of some help to those keen to trace their subject within the general heading of “postal communications pre-1850.”
Thanks are due to the staff at the Post Office Archives, in London, for allowing me to make a preliminary review of their packet-related records. Hopefully, they will become a strategic partner and sponsor the RCPS project.
Further philatelic bibliographic suggestions are welcomed.
Vessels employed in the postal packet service.
I have saved references to almost 400 vessels which officially carried mail as ‘packets’ - as opposed to naval vessels specifically carrying despatches, merchant vessels or vessels which plied a regular route or incorporated ‘packet’ in the ship’s name, most of which operated between ports not served by the Falmouth packets.
Much work is needed to build reference material pertaining to foreign postal communications. All contributions welcome!
Archive Databases
Information is stored in different types of databases, the largest being an ever-growing (random) word-searchable textual database of ‘cuttings’. In turn, cuttings are collated separately in subjective textual databases, such as ‘packets’ or ‘commanders’ – to make tracing the life of either easier.
Informative contributions to the databases are most welcome, indeed actively sought. Appropriate credits will be attached to all contributors' information added to the database(s).
Enabling interactive access is a primary goal. Advice from readers with the technical experience to suggest how this may be achieved (on my budget) would be welcome!
Main topics
News reports and communications carried by the packets give a valuable insight into the social, political and economic history of the colonial era. The birth and development of the United States, for example. Inventions, particularly in the area of transport and communications, feature throughout the database.
News reports & timelines
Viewing communications relative to periods of war and political events. Dates of notable events are listed in a spreadsheet. Subjects are in columnar timelines, by which means events can be seen in relation to other subjects. In it’s original format, users may insert their own subject of interest. It is thus easy to view events in perspective, although working around the large Excel sheet takes some getting used to!
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Sugar, rum & molasses – the merchant fleet cargos
The Port of Falmouth, post-1850
It is interesting to note the development of Falmouth as a working port following the removal of the packet station. With the opening of the railway in 1863, the town started to flourish by promoting itself as a spa. Construction of the docks provided important jobs and the port became the first port of call for Tallships to collect their (delivery) orders. Steam tugs were built as passenger vessels ‘with a licence to tow’ and several were exported. Quay punts provided ship to shore services, becoming popular as safe cruising boats, and boatbuilders adapted to market changes.
Falmouth future is positive!
The combined National Maritime Museum Small Boats Exhibition and the new Cornwall Maritime Museum promises to highlight the town’s maritime status and attract significant numbers of new visitors to the area.
Apart from a wealth of recreational activities, on and off the water, this writer hopes a concerted effort will be made to revive our heritage through a building program of three replica packet ships; one to remain on station in Falmouth, two to sail in company, visiting former postal packet ports.
The benefits for Falmouth in promoting a replica program are too big to ignore. …we have the history, facilities, traditional skills and…. an untapped audience.
Links with our past can be recreated via the ‘net………
Watch this space!
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