Philip Melvill (7 April 1762 – 27 October 1811)''Memoirs of the Late Philip Melvill, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Pendennis Castle, Cornwall : With an Appendix Containing Extracts From His Diaries and Letters Selected by a Friend...together with Two Letters and a Sermon, Occasioned by His Death''; London : Hatchard, 1812. 322 pages. It is available online a
Internet Archive
The memoirs, by an anonymous evangelical friend run to page 178, Melvill's death being recorded on page 153, the deathbed scene being described on many pages before that. The list of Subscribers is 18 pages long. was a nineteenth-century philanthropist of

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

.Gay, Susan E. ''Old Falmouth''; London, Headley Bros, 1903 p.28-30, portrait of Melvill, facing p. 29. He was born in 1762 in

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

on the southeast coast of Scotland.

Military service

He served in India, as a lieutenant in the 73rd regiment in the war against

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

's forces. In 1780, he was wounded and captured. He was held prisoner for four years under bad conditions. On his release, he was promoted to captain. However, he was still very ill and stayed with his brother in Bengal until 1786, when he was much recovered. On his return to England in 1797, he was appointed the commander of an invalid company based on Guernsey, where he married Miss Elizabeth Dobree. He set up a school for the children of soldiers in his command. He was then appointed Lieutenant-Governor of

Pendennis Castle Pendennis Castle (Cornish: ''Penn Dinas'', meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect agai ...

and served until 1811. He formed the Pendennis Volunteer Artillery, a local militia.

Marriage and family

He married Elizabeth (1770–1845), youngest daughter of Peter Dobrée of Beauregarde,

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

article by E. I. Carlyle, 'Melvill, Sir James Cosmo (1792–1861)’, rev. Katherine Prior, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200

accessed 18 September 2007. They had nine children, including at least two daughters. Their eldest son, John, was drowned, aged 19, off

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, in 1808. Their second son died at the age of 12. Their third son,

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including '' Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', ''Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...

(1792–1861), was Secretary of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. Their fourth son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

(1796–1882), became Military Secretary to the East India Company in 1837. Their fifth son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(1798–1871), was a Church of England clergyman, who became principal of the

East India Company College The East India Company College, or East India College, was an educational establishment situated at Hailey, Hertfordshire, nineteen miles north of London, founded in 1806 to train "writers" (administrators) for the Honourable East India Company ( ...

, Haileybury and then a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

residentiary of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

; he was also

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and a famous preacher.ODNB article by G. C. Boase, 'Melvill, Henry (1798–1871)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200

accessed 18 September 2007 Another son, Sir

Peter Melvill Major-General Sir Peter Melvill Melvill (2 July 1803''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975'' – 5 November 1895) was a British military commander in the Bombay Army who was military and naval secretary to the Governor of Bombay. ...

(1803–1895),National archive website - date of death
/ref> became a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, KCB and was military and naval secretary to the government of Bombay.

Philanthropy

In 1807, he founded the Falmouth Misericordia Society "for the relief of poor strangers and distressed persons of the town".''West Briton'', 1 April 1836

"Our readers will perceive, by an advertisement in our third page, that an exhibition and sale of fancy work, in aid of the Misericordia Society, is to be held at Falmouth on Tuesday next. This valuable society deserves the support of a Christian public - its funds are dispensed by ladies, who themselves visit the abodes of poverty - enquire into the causes of the distress, and alleviate as far as possible the sufferings they witness."

The Society was still in operation in 1887, according t
''West Briton'', 18 August 1887.
/ref> He also helped found a Church Girls' School in 1802 and a Boys' School in 1805.Dunstan, Bob ''The Book of Falmouth and Penryn: the story of two towns''; Chesham Buckinghamshire, Barracuda Books, 1975. . pp.34-35.

Death and legacy

He died on 27 October 1811 at Pendennis Castle. Memoirs of him were published in 1812. The Falmouth Misericordia Society was still in operation in 1887. Melvill Road, connecting the A39 road with

Falmouth Docks Falmouth Docks are a deep-water docks of the town of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The docks are the southern shore of the Fal Estuary which is the third largest natural harbour in the world and the deepest in Europe. They ex ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melvill, Philip 1762 births 1811 deaths English philanthropists Falmouth, Cornwall

73rd Regiment of Foot officers