History
The village was founded in 1661; there is disagreement about whether there are any houses of the late 17th century. Originally named Nankersey, meaning valley of the reed swamp, the village was given its name by Dutch engineers from Flushing in the Netherlands who built the three main quays in the village. The grand houses on St Peter's Hill, the road that leads into the village, were owned by captains of the packet ships (mail-boats) that docked in nearby Falmouth. The Spanish Armada intended to land there in its attack on England but it was not able to capture it.
Henry VIII intended to build a castle on Trefusis Point, to accompany those built at Pendennis and St. Mawes, but due to the expensive wars was unable to finance it.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the village's economy mainly relied upon fishing, the two farms and former manors of Trefusis (the original seat of the Trefusis family, Barons Clinton since 1791) and Tregew and Falmouth Docks. There was also briefly a copper mine on Jericho beach, but extracting the copper proved commercially unviable. Now it is principally a commuter village for the nearby towns of Penryn, Falmouth and Truro, although some commercial fishing vessels are still based in the village. There are also several B&Bs to cater for tourists; in addition, many houses in the village now lie unoccupied for most of the year as they are used as holiday homes.
Read more about this topic: Flushing, Cornwall
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