Fowey, or Fawey, is a borough town, situated on the western bank of the river of the same name. In the hundred of Powder, and distant 239 miles from London. The houses extend, along the bank of the river, for nearly a mile; the streets are very irregular, narrow, and full of angles, almost impassable for carriages.

The market-house is spacious, and the town-hall is over it.

The borough of Fowey has returned members to parliament ever since the 13th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the number of the voters, being the Prince's tenants, and inhabitants paying scot and lot, is estimated at 60.

The government of the town is vested in a mayor, eight aldermen, a recorder, and two assistants. The mayor and aldermen are justices of the peace. Under a charter granted by James II. the office of recorder was appointed; before this the chief magistrate was called the portreeve.

Fowey, and the neighbouring country, suffered much during the civil wars between Charles I. and his parliament; and in 1644 the parliament general, the Earl of Essex, was compelled to embark at Fowey, leaving the greatest part of his army to surrender at discretion; himself escaping with Lord Roberts and some other officers to Plymouth.

The manor, of Fowey formerly belonged to the priory of Frewardreth; on the suppression of religious houses it was annexed, by Henry VIII. to the duchy of Cornwall, and now held by the corporation at a small quit rent.

There are two good free-schools belonging to the town, and an almshouse for eight decayed widows. The church is a handsome lofty building, consisting of one large aisle and two smaller; at the west end is the tower, ornamented by rich carved work, and supported by buttresses terminated by pinnacles. It appears from the stile of architecture to have been built about the time of Edward IV. and is dedicated to Fimbarras, an Irish saint, said to have been a bishop of Cork in the 5th century.

Fowey is a vicarage, and valued in Liber Regis at 101.

Place or Treffry House, on the north side of the church is thus mentioned by Leland: "The Frenchmen divers times assailed this town, and last most notably, about Henry the VI. tyme, when the wife of Thomas Treury (Treffry) the II. with her men, repelled the French out of her house in her husband's absence; whereupon Thomas Truerybuilded a right faire and strongly-embattled tower in his house, and embattling all the walls of the house, in the manner of a castelle, and unto this day it is the glorie of the town building in Fowey." Leland further says of Fowey, "When Cardinham gave Fawey to Tywartrarth Priorie, it was but a small fischar town. The glorie of Fawey rose by the warres in King Edward I. and III. and Henry the Vth's day, partly by piracy, and so waxing rich fell al to merchandize, so that the town was haunted with shippes of diverse nations, and their shippes went to all nations. The shippes of Fawey sailing by Rhy and Whinchelsey, about Edward the IIId. tyme, would vale no bonet being required, whereupon Rhy and Winchelsey men and they fought, when Fawey men had victorie, and thereupon bare their arms mixt with the arms of Rhy and Winchelsey, and then rose the name of the gallants of Fawey. "When warre in Edward the lVth's. days seased bytwene the French men and Englisch, the men of Fawey, usid to pray (prey,) kept their shippes, and assaled the French men in the sea, agaynst King Edwardes commandment; whereupon the captaines of the shippes of Fawey were taken and sent to London, and Dartemouth men commanded to fetche their shippes away; at whyche time Dartmouth men toke away, as it is sayde, the great chayne that was made to be drawn over the haven from the towr to towr." Carew mentions in his survey "that it is reported 60 tall ships did at one time belong to the harbour, and that they furnished 37 sail for the siege of Calais." These extracts are made to shew the former consequence of the town of Fowey.

The harbour of Fowey is spacious and commodious, and had formerly a strong fort on each side of the entrance, built by Edward IV. The remains of the forts are still visible. At present the harbour is defended by two small batteries of modern construction, and by St. Catherine's fort, built by the town in the time of Henry VIII. upon the summit of a most magnificent hill of rocks bounding one of the creeks of the river.

The scenery of Fowey Harbour, and in the immediate neighbourhood, is particularly grand; on the Polwan side of the river, to which there is a ferry for foot passengers, the cliffs and projecting fragments of the broken rocks are of the boldest character. Upon the summit of one of the highest are the ruins of St. Saviour's chapel, which may be seen a great distance: on the Fowey side the landscape is equally pleasing.

The greatest part of the inhabitants of Fowey are concerned, either directly or indirectly, with some branch of the pilchard fishery : it is computed that upwards of 28,000 hogsheads of fish are brought into the port every year. Upon the approach of fish there are people called Huers, stationed on the rocks, to watch the course of the shoals for the information of the fishermen.

About three miles west of Fowey is Menabilly, the seat of W. Rashleigh, Esq. one of the members of the present parliament for this borough, a gentleman universally respected throughout the county. It is a handsome stone building, situated on an eminence at a small distance from the sea, commanding an extensive view over the British Channel. Mr. Philip Rashleigh favoured the public with a valuable work, entitled "Specimens of British Minerals," from the magnificent collection at this house, which was shewn, with great liberality, to every person of science by Mr. Rashleigh himself. It is supposed to be the finest collection of minerals of any in Cornwall, or perhaps in the whole kingdom. Of its extent some idea may be formed, when it is told that there are in it 1000 varieties of copper ore. Among the most remarkable specimens of Cornish mineralogy in this cabinet, "are green carbouate of lead and apatite, with quartz from near Helstone; blende in twenty-sided crystals, and green fluor in crystals of twenty-four sides, from St. Agnes; crystallized antimony, with red blende on quartz, from Huel Boys, near Port Isaac; yellow copper ore with opal, from Roskeir; and arseniate of copper, in cubes of a bright green colour, from Huel Carpenter." The traveller of taste will also be delighted with the elegant grotto, built by Mr. Rashleigh in a beautiful secluded situation, near the sea side, in the little cove of Polredmouth. The grotto is constructed of crystals, pebbles, and shells, in the form of an octagon; two of the sides of which are appropriated to the door and the window, which front each other. The six remaining sides form receptacles, four of which contain specimens of ores found in the county, and two are filled by organic fossils, polished agates, jaspers, &c. shells, coraloides, specimens of quartz, fluors, and various other substances occupy the intermediate spaces. In this grotto are preserved two links of the chain found in Fowey Harbour, of a triangular form, incrusted with shells, corals, &c. supposed to be a part of the chain which extended from tower to tower for the ancient defence of the harbour: the diameter of each link is sixteen inches. Among the mineralogical specimens, one of Chalcedony deserves particular notice, for its beauty and magnitude. In the middle of the grotto is a table inlaid with thirty-two polished specimens of granite, all found in the county of Cornwall.

FOWEY, once a borough, is a market town and shipping port, township and parish, with a station on the Great Western railway, 287 miles from London, 6 south from Lostwithiel and 8 south-east from St. Austell, in the South Eastern division of the county, east division of the hundred of Powder, petty sessional division of Powder Tywardreath, St. Austell union and county court district, rural deanery of St. Austell, archdeaconry of Cornwall and diocese of Truro. The town of Fowey is on the western side of the harbour and river of that name, and on the eastern side is the suburb and township of Polruan, in the parish of Lanteglos and Liskeard union. The railway from this place to Newquay is called the Cornwall Minerals railway and is worked by the Great Western railway, who also work the Cornwall line, with which this line is connected at St. Blazey. The line to Lostwithiel, for some time disused, was relaid about 1894—5, by the Cornwall Minerals Co. and connected with the new Goonbarrow branch and in 1896 the line was reopened under the control of the Great Western Railway Company. During the period of the Crusades (1095—1271) Fowey was an important place, and at this port numerous vessels were equipped for successive expeditions to the Holy Land ; in the reign of Edward III. it furnished 47 ships and 770 men for the investment of Calais in 1346; the town was several times attacked by the French, who, however, were stoutly met, and compelled to re-embark; the harbour was anciently protected by St. Catherine’s fort, a stronghold built on the rocky heights near the mouth and by another on the opposite shore, both now ruinous : here, on 2nd September, 1644, a portion of Lord Essex’s forces, under the command of Major-Gen. Philip Skippon, surrendered to Charles I. The harbour, by an order of the Board of Trade in September, 1869, is under the management of the Fowey Harbour Commissioners ; it is easy of access, and sheltered from the south-west gales ; ships drawing not more than 16 or 18 feet of water easily find refuge in this harbour, but a lighthouse on West Point is very much needed, mariners being afraid to make for it in thick weather, and vessels are thus liable to be embayed or driven on shore. As a health resort Fowey is considered to be one of the best in England on account of its mild and equable temperature. The town is lighted with gas, by a company formed at Bodmin, and is supplied with water from works here, purchased by the St. Austell Rural Sanitary Authority, June 24, 1893, from the Fowey Waterworks Co. Limited. The three original reservoirs had a capacity of only 135,000 gallons, but in 1897 two new reservoirs were constructed and opened; the first, which has a capacity of 300,000 gallons, is at Trezare, close to the springs and the water parses through this reservoir to the second, which is in Windmill field, and holds 400,000 gallons, thence it is conveyed to the town in pipes. The streets are very narrow and quaint. Fowey was formerly a municipal and parliamentary borough, and was governed by a portreeve until its incorporation by a charter of James II.; a new charter was granted by William and Mary in 1690, and another in 1819 by George III. by which the corporation consisted of a mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, town clerk and assistants : in 1827 a writ was issued against the corporation for the abuse of their privileges, and judgment having been recorded against them, the municipal body ceased to exercise their functions; eventually the corporation, having become obsolete, was finally abolished by the ‘‘Municipal Corporations Act, 1883.” The insignia of the defunct corporation, now in the possession of J. Rashleigh esq. consist of two maces and a borough seal: the maces, of silver-gilt, are 3 feet 2 inches in length; the shafts and knops are richly chased, and scroll brackets support the heads, which are ornamented with caryatidal figures and the national emblems, crowned; round the top of each runs a fillet, inscribed :-“Clavis : Burgi: de : Fowy: in: Comitatu: Cornubiae,” and above this is a circlet of crosses and fleurs-de-lis; the hall-marks give the dates 1684—5. The seal of steel bears the device of a ship in full sail, with a legend and the date 1702; there was also a silver seal, now lost. The borough sent representatives to a national council 14 Edward III. (1343—4), but first returned members of Parliament 13 Elizabeth (1570—1) and continued to return two members until its disfranchisement by the Reform Act of 1832. The church of St. Fimbarrus is a noble edifice of Pentewan stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles, erected in 1350, and containing a clock and 8 bells, two of which were added in 1877 at a cost of £240: the stained east window, a memorial to the Meredith family, was designed by Dr. Drake, a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the famous navigator: the stained west window was given by Mrs. Stopford-Sackville, of Point Neptune, in memory of her father, William Rashleigh esq. sometime M.P. for East Cornwall: a stained window, filled with nautical subjects, was placed in 1876 as a memorial to the late Admiral Purcell and his son, Commander Purcell R.N. by the family, and there are other stained windows: the reredos was presented by the present vicar, as a memorial to his wife, and a carved oak parclose screen, executed by Hems and Sons, of Exeter, was erected in 1806 in memory of Miss Purcell : there is a slab bearing the effigy in brass of a man in civil costume, probably of the Treffry family, the figures of his wife and several children, with the inscription being lost; on another slab is the brass effigy of a man in a long furred robe, above his head two shields of the arms of Rashleigh, and below, figures of six girls; the effigies of his wife and other children are missing, and only a fragment of the marginal inscription remains ; the slab has been inscribed at a later date to Robert Rashleigh gent, of Combe, ob. 27 September, 1708; on a slab adjoining this is a brass effigy and an inscription to Alice (Lanyon) wife of John Rashleigh esq. ob. 20 August, 1591, and to her husband ob. August 10, 1582; at the head was a shield of arms, now missing: there are also several fine monuments to the Treffry and Rashleigh families, which have been restored by Dr. Drake, and one, with effigy in marble, to John Johns esq.: the east end of the north aisle, said to date from 1336, originally formed a chapel: the nave has a good wagon roof of oak, supported on corbels, adorned with figures of angels holding shields, exhibiting the emblazoned arms of the founders of and benefactors to the church, painted by Dr. Drake: the carved pulpit dates from 1601: the south porch is rib-vaulted in stone and has an upper storey, used as a muniment room: the church was restored in 1876, at a cost of £4,976, when a new organ was erected, but this instrument was replaced by another in 1892 at a cost of about £500: there are 950 sittings. The register of baptisms dates from the year 1543; marriages, 1568 ; burials, 1603. The living is a vicarage, net income £180, with residence and 6 acres of glebe, in the gift of Charles Ebenezer Treffry esq. and held since 1867 by the Rev. Handfield Noel Purcell M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford, surrogate and J.P. The Congregational chapel, in Lostwithiel street, erected in 1887 at a cost of £1,500, in place of an earlier building, dating from 1797, is an edifice of stone, with a turret, and will seat 250 persons : the Bible Christian chapel in Fore street, erected in 1883 at a cost of about £750, will hold 160 persons; the Wesleyan chapel in North street, erected in 1894, on the site of the former chapel, built in 1801, has 350 sittings. A cemetery of half an acre, formed in 1873 on the hills above the town, was enlarged in 1890 to more than an acre in extent, and is under the control of the parish council, acting as a burial board. The Town hall, a plain building of stone, situated near the Town quay, is used as an occasional court house and for public entertainments and meetings, the lower part being set apart for the weekly meat market; it was restored and renovated in 1896, with a view to its being used for dramatic performances: it will hold 400 people. The Port of Fowey Chamber of Commerce, in North street, was instituted in 1897. The Working Men’s Institute, situated on the Town quay, erected in 1878 at a cost of £1,200, contains reading and bagatelle rooms, a library of 700 volumes, and a hall seating about 300 people, which is let for public entertainments and meetings: visitors are permitted the use of the institute on application to the secretary, by paying is per quarter. There are now (1897) 220 members. The Young Men’s Christian Association holds its meetings in Fore street and the Young Women’s Association at their own hall adjoining the Town hall. The Masonic Lodge, an edifice of brick with stone dressings, was erected in 1882 at a cost of £700. A Foresters’ court was established in 1863, with a capital of £3,500, and has now (1897) 315 members. The meetings are held in the Working Men’s Institute hall. The Fowey Yacht club was formed in 1894, and a regatta under its auspices is held annually in the middle of August; the club burgee is red, with a shield bearing the ancient arms of Cornwall (sable, fifteen bezants in pile, or) ; visitors residing temporarily at Fowey may be admitted to the club on the introduction of a member and the payment of certain fees. The No. 3 Company of the Duke of Cornwall’s 1st Volunteer Brigade, Western Division, Royal Artillery, have their head quarters here. Fowey hotel, erected in 1882 and enlarged in 1891 at a cost of £14,000, is the property of the Fowey Hotel Co. Limited: the building occupies an elevated

site, overlooking the entrance to the harbour and commands extensive and delightful views by sea and land; it is now lighted throughout with electricity, and has a verandah running along the seaward front. The St. Catherine’s Private hotel, on the Esplanade, is a well-appointed modern establishment. The Albert Wine bar, the property of the Fowey Wine Company Limited, was opened in June, 1894 ; it is arranged in the “Bodega” style, and is much appreciated by visitors. The trade carried on here is of a general character, including the exportation of china day and china stone, and the importation of coal. For the loading and unloading of china clay, china stone and coals, there are four jetties, each fitted with machinery worked by hydraulic and steam power, and capable of tipping about 2,000 tons daily if necessary. The reopening of the Lostwithiel and Fowey railway has given increased facilities for imports and exports, and three new jetties were erected in 1896. The market day is on Saturday. The fairs are held on Shrove Tuesday, ist of May and 10th of September. The Sailor’s Home and Rest, Fore street, erected in 1890, under the auspices of the Seamen’s Christian Friend Society, at a cost of about £1,700, contains 23 rooms, including reading, recreation, smoking arid refreshment rooms, bedrooms and bathroom, a mission room to seat 80 persons and premises for the caretaker. Fowey Cottage Hospital, established in 1860, is supported by voluntary contributions, and contains 7 beds : the hospital was re-established in 1890, and is now used by the inhabitants of the town and surrounding parishes as well as by sailors : 30 in-patients were treated during the year 1896. The charities include one left by William Rashleigh esq. of Menabilly, for 16 poor widows of the town, each of whom receives 2s. 9d. per week and clothing, and 20s. 6d. at Christmas : there are other sums which are now distributed in prizes to the children of the Board Schools. On one of the quays is an obelisk, erected by subscription in commemoration of the landing here of Her Majesty the Queen and the late Prince Consort, in September, 1846; and one mile from the town, near Castledour, on the Lostwithiel road, is a curious and ancient monolith, of irregular shape, 8 feet in height and about 2 feet wide at the base, inscribed, “Cirvsius hie Jacit Cvnomori Filius.” Place, the seat of Charles Ebenezer Treffry esq. J.P. on the north of the church, originally built in the nth century, and rebuilt in the reign of Hen. VII. was restored and enlarged by the late J. T. Treffry esq. (d. 1850) ; it has a modern embattled tower, but retains some interesting work of the Tudor period, including bay windows with rich panelling, and shields of arms and an old hall and porch. Point Neptune, a modern stone mansion, beautifully situated on the west side, and near the mouth of the harbour, is the marine residence of Mrs. Stopford-Sackville. On the road to Par, about half a mile from Fowey, is Carnethick, the residence of William John Graham esq.; the house, erected about 1889, has extensive views of sea and land ; the grounds are now being laid out. Here was formerly a hospital, dedicated to St. Blaize. Charles Ebenezer Treffry esq. and Jonathan Rashleigh esq. of Menabilly, Tywardreath, are the principal landowners. The soil is light loam; subsoil, shale and rock. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and roots. The area of the parish is 1,953 acres (including 50 of water); rateable value, £9,586; the population in 1891 was 1,957.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of services. St. Fimbarrus Church, Rev. Handfield Noel Purcell M.A. vicar; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m.

Congregational, Lostwithiel street, Rev. Thos. Edmund Damerell; 11 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Thur. 7.30 p.m.

Bible Christian, Fore street; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Fri. 7 p.m. fortnightly Wesleyan, North street; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m. fortnightly.

SCHOOLS

The Grammar School occupies extensive & finely situated buildings of red brick with stone dressings, erected in 1879—80 on the hills above the town, at a cost of about £2,500; it was reorganized in 1876 under a scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners & reopened in 1880; & in 1890 a new wing was added, at a cost of £450: the school has a yearly endowment of £80, left by Shadrach Vincent esq. for educating 10 poor boys, who are called Vincent’s scholars, & there are other boarders & day scholars educated at fees fixed by the governors, who are nine in number; Josiah Joseph Stephens M.A.Dublin, headmaster; Walter George Fulford B.A.Cantab. second master; Albertus Dingle, clerk & receiver.

A School Board of 7 members was formed February 16, 1875; William John Graham, clerk to the board.

Board, built with house for master in 1876—7, at a cost of over £2,500 & enlarged in 1884, for 120 boys, 100 girls & 100 infants; average attendance, 105 boys, 90 girls & 80 infant.