Fowey

Fowey Cornish: Fowydh
Fowey, Town Quay: Fowey Town Hall (grey stone on the centre left), The King of Prussia Public House (pink in the centre) and the Royal British Legion Club (red brick on right)
Fowey Location within Cornwall
Population	2,315 (United Kingdom Census 2011)
OS grid reference	SX126516
Civil parish	Fowey
Unitary authority	Cornwall
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FOWEY
Postcode district	PL23
Dialling code	01726
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	St Austell and Newquay
List of places UK England Cornwall 50°20′07″N 4°38′14″W / 50.33528°N 4.63722°W / 50.33528; -4.63722

Fowey (

The people of Fowey generally sided with the Royalists during the English Civil War, but in 1644 the Earl of Essex brought a Parliamentarian army to Lostwithiel and occupied the peninsula around Fowey. In August, a Royalist army surrounded Essex's troops and King Charles I himself viewed Fowey from Hall Walk above Polruan, where he came close to being killed by a musket shot. On 31 August, the Parliamentarian cavalry forced their way through the Royalist lines and retreated towards Saltash, leaving the foot soldiers to be evacuated by sea from Fowey. Essex and some officers did indeed escape, but the majority of the force surrendered a few days later near Golant and were then marched to Poole, but most died before reaching there.^[3]

The fortunes of the harbour became much reduced, with trade going to Plymouth and elsewhere instead. Fishing became more important, but local merchants were often appointed as privateers and did some smuggling on the side. Tin, copper and iron mines, along with quarries and china clay pits became important industries in the area, which led to improvements at rival harbours. West Polmear beach was dug out to become Charlestown harbour circa 1800, as was Pentewan in 1826.^[4] Joseph Austen shipped copper from Caffa Mill Pill above Fowey for a while before starting work on the new Par harbour in 1829.^[5] Fowey had to wait another forty years before it saw equivalent development, but its natural deep-water anchorage and a rail link soon gave it an advantage over the shallow artificial harbours nearer to the mines and china clay works. Meanwhile, a beacon tower was erected on the Gribben Head by Trinity House to improve navigation into Fowey and around Par bay.^[4]

The Fowey Harbour Commissioners were established by an

Fowey was the main port for loading ammunition for the US 29th Division that landed on

The seal of the borough of Fowey was On a shield a ship of three masts on the sea her topsail furled with the legend "Sigillum oppidi de Fowy Anno Dom. 1702".^[11] Fowey Town Hall, on the Town Quay, was completed in 1787.^[12]

Fowey elected two members to the

In local government terms, Fowey is now a civil parish with a town council and a mayor. Local government responsibilities are shared by the town council and Cornwall Council. Besides the town of Fowey itself, the parish includes the coastal area between the mouth of the River Fowey and St Austell Bay, including Gribben Head and the small settlements of Menabilly, Polkerris, Polmear and Readymoney.^[14][15][16]

The parish of Fowey lies within the St Austell and Newquay constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament. Prior to Brexit in 2020, it was in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.^[16]

Fowey is a small

Fowey is in the South Coast (Eastern Section) of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies at the end of the Saints' Way and has ferries across the river to Polruan (foot) and Bodinnick (vehicle). There are many historic buildings in the town, including the ruins of St Catherine's Castle, while Readymoney Cove possesses a local beach.

At the time of the 2001 census, Fowey had a population of 2,273. This had increased slightly at the 2011 census to 2,395.^[19] The Fowey electoral ward had a population of 4,690 in 2011.^[20]

Popular legend has it that Jesus visited Fowey as a child, along with Joseph of Arimathea who was a merchant visiting local tin mines in which he had a commercial interest.^{[citation needed]} At the entrance to the River, on the eastern side below the cliffs to the south-west of St Saviour's Point, there is a cross to commemorate this supposed visit. This cross is marked on very early charts and was maintained by monks from Tywardreath. The cross is known locally as "Punches Cross", supposedly derived from the name of Pontius Pilate.

One hundred yards west of the lighthouse on the west of the harbour entrance, about thirty feet below the top of the cliff edge and broadly concealed, is a small grass area known as "Johnny May's Chapel". This name is believed to be that of a Methodist preacher at the time when Nonconformism was persecuted.

The

Fowey has thrived as a

Both vehicle and foot ferry services cross the river to Bodinnick and Polruan. A ship to shore water taxi service operates from Easter until the end of October and a foot ferry to the fishing village of Mevagissey runs from 1 May to 1 October, weather permitting.^[23]

Fowey has two schools: Fowey Primary School and Fowey River Academy, both of which are in Windmill Road. Fowey Grammar School, for which its architect Silvanus Trevail received a silver medal, was demolished in 1999.^[24]

Fowey has been the inspiration for many authors, including Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch ('Q'), who lived in the town in retirement,^[25] and Daphne du Maurier.^[26] The du Maurier Festival Society runs the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature each May, the month of her birth.^[27]

Various visual artists have had close connection with Fowey and lived there, including Fred Yates (painter),^[28] Andrew Litten^[29] Amanda Hoskin who primarily paints the local coastline.^[30] and Mabel Lucie Attwell. Fowey holds an annual Christmas craft market.^[31]

An engraving of a painting by Thomas Allom entitled Fowey Harbour, St. Saviour's Chapel & Polruan Castle together with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, which recounts the repelling of the French 'out of her house' (that is, Place House) in Fowey by the wife of 'Thomas Treury, the 2d' in her husband's absence, around the time of Henry 6th, was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832.^[32]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Fowey Harbour, and Polruan Castle, a poetical illustration by L. E. L.

The surrounding coastline of Fowey is popular with fishermen and spear-fishermen. Many sea creatures can be seen all around the Cornish shoreline, including mullet, bass, mackerel, lobsters and cuttlefish.^[33] Many of the species can be seen in the Fowey Aquarium in the heart of the town, which includes a very rare Albino Bull Huss.^[34]

The Royal Fowey Yacht Club is based on the harbour front.^[35] A Pilot Gig Rowing Club races in and around Cornwall, with an event at Fowey being held the same week as the Regatta. The club launches from Caffa Mill slip.^[36] Fowey Golf Club was founded in 1894 and continued until the late 1940s.^[37]

Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, were held in Fowey at the Fowey Grammar School sports ground.^[38]

A doctors' surgery called the 'Fowey River Practice' is situated in Rawlings Lane, and is part of a group including two other surgeries in the Fowey River Practice group, which are situated at Par and Polruan.^[39]

• Charles Fitzgeoffrey an Elizabethan poet and clergyman was the son of the Rector of Fowey.
• Hugh Peters
  (or Peter), a 17th-century preacher, was born at Fowey.
• Mary Bryant (born 1765) was born in Fowey before being transported as a convict to the colony of New South Wales, where she became one of the first escapees.^[40]
• John Whitehead Peard (1811–1880), a British soldier renowned as 'Garibaldi's Englishman' ^[41]
• Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932) most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908) lived for part of the year in Fowey during the 1890s and into the early part of the 20th century.^[42]
• Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) settled in Fowey in 1891 and remained there for the rest of his life.^[43] Quiller-Couch was an author and professor of English literature primarily recalled for his influential literary criticism.
• Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879–1964) was a British illustrator. She was known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children, based on her daughter, Peggy. Her drawings are featured on many postcards, advertisements, posters, books and figurines. She settled in Fowey, dying here in 1964.
• Leo Walmsley (1892 – 1966) was an English writer. He died in Fowey, Cornwall, on 8 June and his house 21 Passage Street was named Bramblewick after his popular book series.
• Navy Cross winner was born here on 11 January 1894.^[44]
• Margot Marshall (1918-2010), British Army officer in WWII.^[45]
• Don't Look Now
  that were turned into films.
• Nobel Prize for Physics
  , was born here.
• Gordon Waller (1945-2009), of the singing duo Peter and Gordon, resided in Cornwall for eight years during his children's youth. His family maintains a lifelong association with the village.^[46]
• Noël Goodwin (1927–2013), music and dance critic.^[47]
• Dawn French (born 1957), actress and comedian, lived at Fowey with her second husband until selling her property there in 2021.^[48]

A number of entertainers have primary and secondary residences around the town including: Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, Gloria Hunniford, and former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis.^[49][50]

Further reading

• Henderson, Charles (1935) Fowey. In: Essays in Cornish History edited by A. L. Rowse and M. I. Henderson; pp. 26–43

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Fowey.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fowey.