History of the Falmouth Hotel

Every great hotel has a vast fund of stories to tell. The Falmouth has been welcoming guests since the 1860's and its guests add up to a mini-Who's Who of the great, the good, the famous, the fascinating, the triumphant and occasionally, the tragic. 

Staff play an equally important role in creating and maintaining a building's identity that is often unique, constituting a small community in its own right. A great hotel assumes a life and personality all of its own and in so doing directly contributes to, as well as reflects, the march of history.  The Falmouth hotel is no exception.

" ... host to royalty, military supremo's, famous authors, film and pop stars, sporting icons plus a Prime Minister or two .."


In 1850, the Post Office Station at Falmouth had closed down and the loss of a substantial source of trade and income had an adverse effect on the life of the town. Facing a bleak future, local businessmen set about exploring new avenues to restore prosperity. With Falmouth's magnificent harbour and its geographical position as the first port in the kingdom, they decided to form a company to build and operate a dockyard complex.


Together with other influential people they had already created the Cornwall Railway Company and were building a line that would eventually link up with the Great Western Railway at Plymouth and thus the national network. They formed yet another company to build a large hotel. On August 6 1863, the foundation stone of The Falmouth Hotel was laid by Robert Tweedy, the first Chairman of The Falmouth Hotel Company Limited. Twenty-one months later, he was joined by 70 distinguished guests at a grand dinner to celebrate the opening of Falmouth's very first hotel.

Over the passing of time, The Falmouth has "seen it all". To rephrase an old newspaper slogan, "all human life is and .has been here". Behind its imposing facade, The Falmouth has played and still plays host to royalty, military supremos, famous authors, film and pop stars, sporting icons plus a Prime Minister or two. It has weathered a long history well, a monument to genteel hospitality.