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Fowey (St. Fimbarrus)

FOWEY (St. Fimbarrus), a sea-port, market-town, and parish, and formerly an incorporated borough, in the union of St. Austin, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 29 miles (S. W. by S.) from Launceston, and 234½ (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 1643 inhabitants, of whom 1388 are in the town. This place, the name of which was formerly Ffowey, is of ancient origin, and rose into importance during the wars that occurred in the reigns of Edward I. and III. and Henry V. In the time of Edward III., its ships refusing to strike when required, as they sailed by Rye and Winchelsea, were attacked by the vessels of those ports, but defeated them; and in commemoration of this gallant conduct, the inhabitants bore their arms united with the arms of the two cinque-ports, which gave rise to the appellation of the "Gallants of Fowey." To the fleet of Edward III. before Calais, this place contributed 47 ships, being a greater number than was supplied by any other port in England; and also furnished 770 mariners, which was a greater proportion than that of any other town except Yarmouth. Fowey was attacked and partly burnt by the French, in 1457; and being again threatened by them in the reign of Edward IV., that monarch caused two towers, the ruins of which are yet visible, to be built at the public charge for its security; but he was subsequently so much displeased with the inhabitants for attacking the French during a truce with Louis XI., that he took away all their ships and naval stores, together with a chain drawn across the river, between the two forts, which was carried to Dartmouth. In the parliamentary war, it was, at first, one of the royal garrisons; in 1644, the town and harbour were taken possession of by the Earl of Essex, with several ships and 17 pieces of ordnance, and here his army was mostly quartered when it surrendered to the king. The fortress and haven were held by the royalists till March, 1646, when they were delivered up, with 13 pieces of ordnance, to Sir Thomas Fairfax. The Dutch, under Admiral de Ruyter, made an unsuccessful attempt on the harbour in 1667.

The town is situated at the mouth of the Fowey, extending a mile along its eastern bank; the scenery around the harbour is grand and interesting, and the cliffs on the opposite side of the river, across which is a ferry for passengers, are of the boldest character. The streets are narrow and irregular, with numerous angles, rendering it difficult for carriages to drive through the town. There is a spacious market-house, over which is the town-hall, erected some years since by Viscount Valletort, and Philip Rashleigh, Esq., then representatives for the borough. Though at one time a place of commercial importance, little of this now remains, except what arises from the pilchard-fishery, in which most of the inhabitants are engaged, and which affords employment to a great number of vessels, it being computed that upwards of 28,000 hogsheads of fish are annually brought into the port: there are a few vessels in the timber and coal trade, two or three London traders, and some small country barges. The number of vessels of above 50 tons' burthen, registered as belonging to the port, is 68, and their aggregate tonnage 4302. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are held on ShroveTuesday, May 1st, and September 10th. The harbour is esteemed the best outlet to the westward of all the ports in the west of England, being at all times safe, and affording such excellent anchorage, that vessels of 1000 tons' burthen can ride in safety, and enter at the lowest tide, drawing three fathoms of water, and go into deeper water above. The shores are bold, and free from danger; and ships in distress may run in with perfect safety, without cable or anchor. The fort of St. Catherine, constructed for the protection of the harbour in the reign of Henry VIII., still exists, with four guns mounted upon it; and between this and the town are two small forts of more modern erection.

Fowey was incorporated by charter of James II.; another charter was granted by William and Mary in 1690, and a third in 1819. Under the last, there were a mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, a town-clerk, and assistants; but a writ of ouster was brought against the corporation for the abuse of their chartered privileges, and judgment having been recorded against them in Trinity Term, 1827, no attempt has been made to elect another mayor, hold sessions, or do any other corporate acts; and the county magistrates have ever since acted for the borough. The town sent members to a national council in the 14th of Edward III., and first returned representatives to parliament in the 13th of Elizabeth, from which period it continued to send two members till disfranchised in the 2nd of William IV. The parish comprises 1895a. 1r. 3½p. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10; patron, J. T. Treffry, Esq.; impropriators, W. Rashleigh and E. Pearse, Esqrs. The great tithes have been commuted for £163. 18., and the vicarial for £168; the glebe comprises 6 acres. The church is a handsome edifice, with a lofty pinnacled tower at the west end; it was rebuilt in 1336, and again rebuilt, or much altered, and its present tower erected, about 1466: there are several monuments belonging to the families of Rashleigh and Treffry. The Wesleyans and Independents have places of worship. In the reign of Charles II., Jonathan Rashleigh, Esq., built an almshouse for eight widows, and endowed it with the great tithes of the parish of St. Wenn, now let for £150 per annum. The castellated mansion of Place-house, on an eminence near the church, anciently the residence of the Treffry family, is a curious relic of early domestic architecture; an oriel, projecting from the south side of it, is richly ornamented with tracery. The ruins of the block-houses erected for the defence of the harbour by command of Edward IV., are also still to be seen.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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