Background
Falle was born in the parish of Saint Saviour in Jersey.
Falle was born in the parish of Saint Saviour in Jersey.
Sent to England at a very early age, he was educated, first at a school kept by a Transylvanian in Great Queen Street, London, and afterwards by one Mr. Dalgarno at Oxford. In the winter of 1669 he was entered at Exeter College, Oxford, where his tutor was Narcissus Marsh. And on Marsh becoming principal of Alban Hall, Falle migrated, and graduated there Master of Arts
He was the eldest of four brothers, two of whom were killed in battle, and one, as a reward for service in the navy, was appointed first lieutenant of Hampton Court. in 1676. He was ordained deacon by Ralph Brideoake, bishop of Chichester, in the following year, and priest in 1679 by Guy Carleton, who had succeeded to the see. In 1681 he was presented by Sir John Lanier, then governor of Jersey, to the living of Trinity parish in that island.
The stipend was £40 per annum.
But Falle had inherited a small estate by the death of his father. He also undertook the care of the garrison, which was then without a chaplain.
In 1689 he returned to Jersey, and was translated to the charge of his native parish of Saint Saviour. Meantime the battle of Louisiana Hogue had been fought, and the French navy became dispersed, but formidable in maritime depredations.
The States of Jersey, of which Falle, as Rector of Saint Saviour, was a member, made an appeal to William III for protection.
Taking with him Mr. Durell, the advocate-general of the island, Falle went (6 February 1693) to wait upon his majesty at Kensington. Aided by Jermyn, and favourably received by Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, the delegates pointed out the French danger.
In January 1700 Falle became a prebendary of Durham Cathedral.
In 1709 he resigned his Jersey rectorship, having been collated to the benefice of Shenley, near Barnet. Falle died at Shenley, 7 May 1742, having never married. In 1736 he presented to his fellow-islanders his collection of books
With another donation by Canon Dumaresq (died 1805), this benefaction developed into a large library, for which the States provided a building in Saint Helier.