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Polruan Blockhouse
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Polruan Castle
In the civil parish of Lanteglos.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).
Boom tower survives as a two storied rectangular building constructed on a low rocky promontory which juts out into the River Fowey, and is located opposite another boom tower, Fowey Blockhouse. The structure is roofless and is constructed of the local slate stone with moulded granite surrounds to some windows, gun ports and the main entrance. The boom tower was probably built in response to a raid on the town of Fowey by the French in 1457. Leland states that the towers were built during the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483). Polruan Blockhouse was also equipped for use with guns. 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 Advances in artillery made the tower obselete and it was superseded by St Catherine's Castle in the 1520s, on the opposite side of the river
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 60592)
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX12335108
PastScape number;
1315213
Books
- Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p31
Saunders, Andrew, 1997, Channel Defences (London; Batsford/English Heritage) p117
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p20
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p75
Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p112 [a confusing passage]
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 p215
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p77, 80, 86
Most of the sites or buildings
recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission
to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant |
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English
Heritage and other individuals and organisations. |
It is an offence to disturb a
Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of
everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site
without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation. |
Please help me to make this as
useful a resource as possible by contacting
me if you see errors
or if you can add information.
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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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