The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 for George FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Charles II by Barbara Villiers.

Boscawen had earlier represented Tregony, Cornwall, Truro and Penryn in Parliament and notably served as Comptroller of the Household and Vice-Treasurer of Ireland.

His nephew, the third Viscount, held office as Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners from 1797 to 1799.

In 1821 he was created Earl of Falmouth, in the County of Cornwall, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

As of 2022[update] the titles are held by his great-grandson, the tenth Viscount, who succeeded his 102-year-old father in March of that year.