Fowey Blockhouse (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;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.

OS Map Grid Reference: SX12175133
Latitude 50.33193° Longitude -4.64045°

Fowey Blockhouse has been described as a certain Artillery Fort, and also as a certain Chain Tower.

There are major building remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

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 Advances in artillery made the tower obsolete and it was superseded by St Catherine's Castle in the 1520s. (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument number 1019056, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 31863
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1327315
English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 432257.
County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 26850.

Books
- Purton, P.F., 2009, A History of the Late Medieval Siege: 1200-1500 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press) p. 374
  Harrington, Peter, 2007, The Castles of Henry VIII (Oxford: Osprey) p. 10 (mention)
  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) p. 136-43
  Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 20
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 18
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 73
  Henderson, Charles (edited by Rowse, A.L. and Henderson, M.I.), 1963 (original written 1935), Essays in Cornish history (Clarendon Press) p. 35
  Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p. 112
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 3 online copy
  Lysons, D. and S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol. 3 Cornwall online transcription
  Buck, Samuel and Nathaniel, 1774, Buck's Antiquities (London) Vol. 1 p. 23
  Grose, Francis, 1787, Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol. 8 p. 16-21 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 138 p. 214-15
  Whitley, H.M., 1883-5, 'Cornwall and the Spanish Armada' Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall Vol. 8 p. 150 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 76, 77, 86
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1907, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 204 online copy

Data >	PastScape	County HER	Scheduling	Listing	I. O. E.
Maps >	OS getamap	Streetmap	Old-Maps	Where's the path
Data/Maps >	Magic	V. O. B.	EarthTools
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Photos >	CastleFacts	Geograph	Flickr	Panoramio