Fowey Blockhouse

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Fowey Castle

In the civil parish of Fowey.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Boom tower survives as a ruined three storied rectangular building, built into the side of the cliff which forms the bank of the River Fowey, and is located opposite another chain tower Polruan Blockhouse. The structure is roofless and is constructed of local slate, with three walls surviving, the south east wall having collapsed at some time in the past. The chain tower was probably built in response to a raid on the town of Fowey by the French in 1457. Leland states that the tower was built during the reign of Edward IV. The two boom towers were designed to have a chain laid across the river between them which could be raised to prevent enemy shipping reaching the town of Fowey. Advances in artillery made the tower obselete and it was superseded by St Catherine's Castle in the 1520s.

This site has been described as a;
Chain Tower
Artillery Fort.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 70712)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX12175133

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 432257

Books

Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p20
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p18
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p73
Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p112
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p3
Lysons, D. and S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol3 Cornwall [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=403]
Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p23
Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol8 p16-21

Journal Articles

Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p214-15
Henderson, Charles; edited by Rowse, A.L. and Henderson, M.I., 1963, Essays in Cornish history p35
Whitley, H.M., 1883-5, Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall Vol8 p150

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cornwalleng.html#cornwall1]
Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p76, 77, 86
Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p204

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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