You are here: Home> Discover Falmouth> Street Meets> History of Killigrew Street, The Moor & Berkeley Vale

History of Killigrew Street, The Moor & Berkeley Vale

Killigrew Street

  • Named after the influential Killigrew family who shaped the town’s maritime success, building quays, establishing the town as a Royal Mail packet station, and leaving a lasting legacy in Falmouth.
  • Falmouth Central Methodist Church on Killigrew Street was described as having “one of the grandest expressions of Methodism in Cornwall” with its impressive street façade.

The Moor

  • Once a marshy tract of land with a stream flowing into Smithick Creek, where the Prince of Wales Pier now stands. Following the completion of the waterfront, further development of the town could only be inland, so what became The Moor was drained and developed in the early 19th century.
  • As a focal point of the town, it is surrounded by many important buildings including the Passmore-Edwards Municipal Building (built 1896) which houses Falmouth Art Gallery and the Library.
  • The Post Office was built on The Moor in 1930, adding to the area’s civic importance.
  • Central Fire Station on The Moor was manned by regular firefighters during WWII and housed fire boat crews – one of four brigades serving Falmouth during the war.
  • The foundation stone for the Municipal Building was laid in April 1894, funded by a £2,000 donation from philanthropist John Passmore Edwards who championed free public access to libraries and galleries for working people.
  • The 111 steps of Jacob’s Ladder leading off The Moor are named after local businessman Jacob Hamblen, who commissioned the stairway to link his properties in the upper terraces to his business premises in the town.
  • Home to the Packet Monument (erected 1898) – a granite obelisk dedicated to the officers of H.M. Post Office and Packet Service who sailed from Falmouth 1688-1852.
  • Has been a market space for centuries, and continues to host markets and outdoor events in the piazza.

Berkeley Vale

  • Historically significant as the location of the Territorial Drill Hall built in 1873, now housing the Phoenix Cinema, as the training centre for the 3rd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Rifle Volunteers. It continued to be a training base for the local Territorial Force both before and during WWI.
  • The Police Station was built in Berkeley Vale in 1902, establishing the area’s role in the town’s civic infrastructure.

Image Credits: Falmouth History Archive at The Poly from Brian Osborne’s ‘Images of the Past’ collection and Historic England.