Fowey
| Fowey | |||
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| Coordinates | 50 ° 20 ′ N , 4 ° 38 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SX126516 | ||
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| Residents | 2315 (as of 2011) | ||
| administration | |||
| prefix | 01726 | ||
| Part of the country | England | ||
| Unitary authority | Cornwall | ||
Fowey ( Cornish : Fowydh ) is a small town and civil parish in Cornwall in Great Britain . The city is a popular excursion and holiday destination, but also an important seaport.
location
The town is on the south coast of Cornwall between Looe and Mevagissey . It extends over 1.5 km on the steep hills along the west bank of the River Fowey to its confluence with the English Channel . On the opposite eastern bank are the villages of Bodinnick and Polruan , which are separated from each other by the wide mouth of the Pont Pill stream . The region is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , large parts of the shore area belong to the National Trust .
history
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As a result of the numerous wars waged by the English King Edward I towards the end of the 13th century, the traditional Cinque Ports in south-east England were increasingly the target of enemy attacks. That is why the ports in south-west England gained in importance, especially since they were also more favorable for trade with Gascony, which was then part of England . Fowey, which not only became a major trading port, but also served as the base for numerous campaigns, was one of the ports that flourished around this time. For this purpose, groups of merchants equipped buccaneers , who in the course of time not only seized enemy ships, but also attacked ships and coastal villages indiscriminately as pirates. At the beginning of the 15th century, Fowey had become the most important base for pirates in Europe at the time, and the Fowey Gallants were among the most famous of the privateer groups . Fowey, who had become wealthy through the trade in the booty, was finally able to achieve the status of a borough in the late 15th century, against the resistance of Lostwithiel . The pirate raids on the French coast even after the end of the Hundred Years War led to a French retaliatory attack in 1457 in which much of Fowey was burned down. Finally, piracy on a large scale was stopped by King Edward IV , although pirates from Fowey continued to raid in the years that followed. With the shift of the mining focus to West Cornwall in the 15th century, Fowey lost its importance as a seaport to Truro further west , but until the 19th century Fowey remained an important port for coastal shipping and especially for trade with northern France. From 1571 to 1832 Fowey sent two MPs to the House of Commons . Because of their small size, the constituencies were eventually considered Rotten borough , which were dissolved in the 1832 constituency reform. The expansion of the port and the connection to the railroad brought an upswing in 1869. Fowey became an important export port for the kaolin mined in Cornwall . In 1913, the parish was elevated to the municipal borough , which in 1968 was merged with the nearby, but much larger St Austell to form the Borough of St Austell with Fowey . In 1974 this borough was incorporated into the Restormel Borough , which became part of the new Cornwall Unitary Authority due to the administrative reform of 2009 .
economy
The mouths of the River Fowey and Pont Pill form a protected natural deep-water harbor accessible in all weather and tidal conditions. The harbor is home to around 1,500 boats and is a popular sailing destination with around 7,000 sailing boats a year. In recent years, the port has increasingly been used by cruise ships, despite the narrow, only 200 m wide port entrance. As a seaport, it serves primarily as an export port for kaolin. In 2010, Fowey exported 750,000 t of kaolin, the port can accommodate ships with up to 13,000 tn.l. Load capacity are started.
Attractions
- At the site of the parish church of St Fimbarrus Church there is said to have been a Christian chapel as early as the 6th century. The current church was built in the late 15th century.
- The Place House mansion immediately behind the parish church has been the home of the Treffry family since the 13th century. The current building dates from the early 16th century and was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style in 1791 and in the 19th century . It is used privately and cannot be visited.
- The Tristan Stone is located on the A3082, the main entrance to Fowey. The inscribed granite monolith dates from the 6th century and, according to the inscription, served as a tombstone for Tristan, a son of King Mark of Cornwall.
- The St Catherine's Castle is a small coastal fortifications from the 16th century, the older Fowey Blockhouse replaced at the entrance to the harbor. After 1855, the site was used again for the installation of a coastal battery , which was abandoned at the end of the century.
- The Menabilly estate above Fowey was the residence of the writer Daphne du Maurier from 1943 to 1969. It served as a template for the Manderley estate in her novel Rebecca .
- Gribbin Head is 8 km southwest of Fowey .
Events
Every year in August the week-long Fowey Royal Regatta takes place, one of the most famous sailing events in Great Britain. Queen Victoria , Prince Albert and Queen Elizabeth II have already taken part in the regatta . During the regatta there is an extensive supporting program, in which the Red Arrows aerobatic team of the British Air Force has also participated since 1977 .
Inspired by the writer Daphne Du Maurier, the Fowey Festival of Words and Music has taken place every May since 1997 .
traffic
Fowey is linked to Tywardreath by the A3082 . There is a car ferry to Bodinnick and a passenger ferry to Polruan. There is another ferry connection to the fishing village of Mevagissey.
Personalities
- Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), writer, spent much of her life in Fowey from 1926,
- Antony Hewish (* 1924 in Fowey), Nobel Prize in Physics,
- Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944), writer and literary critic, lived in Fowey from 1891, where he also died.
Web links
- Fowey Town Council
- The Official Tourism Website for Fowey and the Fowey Estuary
- Lanteglos: The History of Fowey
Individual evidence
- ^ The Cornwall AONB: South Coast Eastern. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved July 13, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ National Trust: Fowey Estuary to Pencarrow Head. Retrieved July 11, 2014 .
- ^ The History of Fowey (continued). (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved July 10, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Fowey to Mevagissey Passenger Ferry: The Fowey Gallants. Retrieved July 10, 2014 .
- ^ History of Parliament Online: Fowey. Retrieved July 9, 2014 .
- ^ Fowey Harbor, General Information / History. Retrieved July 9, 2014 .
- ^ History of the Fowey Royal Regatta. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 30, 2014 ; Retrieved July 10, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Fowey Festival of Words and Music: Festival History. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 1, 2014 ; Retrieved July 10, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
