Fowey Blockhouse

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Fowey Blockhouse is a former coastal watchtower in Cornwall in the United Kingdom . The ruin, classified as a Grade II * cultural monument and a Scheduled Monument , is located on the western bank of the mouth of the River Fowey in the English Channel .

history

The stone blockhouse was probably built together with the Polruan Blockhouse on the east bank to protect the entrance to Fowey harbor . The time of construction is controversial, according to some information the tower-like blockhouse was built around 1380, according to other information only after Fowey was destroyed by a French attack in 1457. The entrance to the port of Fowey is only about 200 m wide between the two block houses , and with the help of an iron chain with a diameter of 40 cm running between the two log houses, the entrance could be blocked. The two log houses by Polruan and Fowey are therefore considered to be the oldest fortifications in Great Britain, from which an estuary or harbor entrance could be blocked with the help of a chain.

The tower was finally militarily outdated by the increasing effect of cannons and was abandoned. Instead, St Catherine's Castle was built to protect the harbor entrance in the 1530s . The ruin is now privately owned and cannot be visited.

investment

The rectangular tower was built from slate on the edge of the rocky bluff on the west bank of the River Fowey. Today the tower is a roofless ruin, of which three side walls are still preserved, while the south-eastern wall collapsed at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Past Cape: Fowey Blockhouse. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Fowey.uk.co: Polruan Block House. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  3. ^ British Listed Buildings: Castle Remains at Harbor Mouth, Fowey. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  4. ↑ The Heriage List for England Fowey Blockhouse. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 13, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / list.english-heritage.org.uk  

Coordinates: 50 ° 19 ′ 54.8 "  N , 4 ° 38 ′ 25.4"  W.