Fowey Blockhouse was a medieval artillery fortification built to protect Fowey harbour in Cornwall, working in combination with Polruan Blockhouse on the other side of the river. Only its ruins now remain.
History
The town’s harbour was an important centre for trade, and ships reached it along the Fowey estuary. Two versions of the date for the construction of the blockhouses exist. The first is that French forces raided the town in 1457; soon after, in the reign Edward IV, two blockhouses were constructed on either side of the estuary to control access – Fowey and Polruan Blockhouse. A boom chain was strung between the fortifications to prevent enemy vessels progressing further into the harbour itself. An alternative version suggests that the two blockhouses and the chain were constructed around 1380 in response to the threat from Castille.
In either version of the blockhouse’s early history, in 1478 Edward ordered the removal of the chain – and the imprisonment of various local officials – in response to complaints of piracy around the Fowey region.
Both the Fowey and Polruan blockhouses were superseded by St Catherine’s Castle, built between 1538 and 1540 after Henry VIII broke with the Papacy, resulting in an invasion threat from both France and the Holy Roman Emperor. The new castle was located high on the headland overlooking the entrance to the estuary itself, St Catherine’s Point, from which it took its name – St Catherine’s Castle.
Fowey Blockhouse was a three-storey, narrow rectangular building, constructed of local slate and built into the edge of a cliff. Only three walls of the building now survive, much reduced in height. It would probably have contained gunports for smaller cannon, and living space for its small garrison. It is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Monument and as a Grade II* Listed Building.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0. Images on this website include those from the Geograph website, as of 9 August 2023, and are attributed and licensed as follows: “Fowey Castle“, adapted from image by Rob Farrow, released under CC BY-SA 2.0.