Fox family of Falmouth
The Fox family of Falmouth, Cornwall, UK were very influential in the development of the town of Falmouth in the 19th century and of the Cornish Industrial Revolution. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many of them were members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
Caroline and Barclay Fox kept remarkable journals, which were published in the 1970s and provide historical and literary biographical sources for mid-nineteenth century Britain. Caroline's Journal was originally published in 1881, when it was a “surprise best-seller”. A new selection from the 1882 edition by Wendy Monk was published in 1972.
Caroline Fox kept her journal from 1835 to 1871.Barclay Fox kept his journal from 1832 to 1854 (but with few entries after 1844). Barclay's journal was published in a scholarly but accessible edition by Raymond L. Brett in 1979, reprinted with additional material in 2008.
The idea for the foundation of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society was created by Caroline, Barclay and their older sister, Anna Maria. The first Committee of the "Poly", elected in January 1833, was rather dominated by Fox family members: "Dr. Fox , Mr & Mrs RW Fox, Mr & Mrs GC Fox, Mr TW Fox, Mr GP Fox, Mr & Mrs A Fox, Mr J Fox, Mr & Mrs C Fox of Perran, Miss Fox and Misses AM and C Fox and Mr RB Fox of Bank.".
In 1870, the Falmouth & Penryn Committee included Charles Fox (President), Miss AM Fox, A.Fox, N.Fox, RW Fox, Howard Fox, Mrs Howard Fox, Robert Fox, Samuel Fox and George Henry Fox. Miss AM Fox judged the Needlework that had been exhibited in the Annual Exhibition.
The Poly in Church Street, Falmouth hit serious financial problems in January 2010 and closed its commercial arm. It recovered and is still operating (October, 2014).
Caroline and Barclay's father and uncle were both scientists. Their father, Robert Were Fox, was an FRS with interests in mineralogy, metallurgy and geomagnetism. He was a live wire in the British Association. He invented an improved version of the Dipping Needle Deflector, a navigational aid for polar explorers.
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