Polruan Blockhouse

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Polruan Blockhouse

Polruan 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 eastern bank of the mouth of the River Fowey in the English Channel .

history

The tower-like log cabin was built on the edge of the village of Polruan 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 Fowey Blockhouse was probably built around the same time on the opposite western bank of the river. The entrance to the port of Fowey is only about 200 m wide at this point, and with the help of an iron chain with a diameter of 40 cm running between the towers, 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.

After the French attack on Fowey in 1457, the tower was reinforced and equipped with small guns. Since Fowey remained a pirate base even after the end of the Hundred Years War , King Edward IV finally stopped piracy in 1478 and had the chain removed between the towers. The tower was finally militarily outdated by the increasing effect of cannons and was abandoned. Instead, St Catherine's Castle was built on the western bank to protect the harbor entrance in the 1530s . During the English Civil War , the tower was once again used briefly as a base by royal troops to block the port entrance. After centuries of decline, the first restoration was carried out in 1897 on the initiative of the Fowey-based writer Arthur Quiller-Couch . After a further restoration in 1987, the ruin, now popularly known as The Castle , serves as a viewpoint.

investment

The rectangular log cabin sits on the edge of the low rocky bank on the east bank of the mouth of the Fowey River. The two lower floors of the presumably originally four-storey building are still preserved, with walls up to 2 m thick and loopholes for small guns.

Web links

Commons : Polruan Blockhouse  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Past Cape: Fowey Blockhouse. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Fowey.uk.co: Polruan Block House. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  3. ^ The heritage List for England: Polruan Blockhouse. Retrieved July 13, 2014 .
  4. ^ The Heritage 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  
  5. ↑ Polruan: Blockhouse. Retrieved July 14, 2014 .
  6. ^ John Neale: Exploring the River Fowey. Amberley, Stroud 2013. ISBN 978-1-4456-0648-4 (ebook)
  7. ^ Adrian Pettifer: English castles: a guide by counties. Boydell, Woodbridge 2002. ISBN 0-85115-600-2 , p. 20

Coordinates: 50 ° 19 '54.9 "  N , 4 ° 38' 25.6"  W.