Fowey Town Defences

In the civil parish of Fowey.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Leland say Fowey was walled and gated but King writes no other evidence for this "exceptionally difficult labour of fortification." Chandler transcribes Leland as "Fowey is a market town defended on the seaward side by a wall, and it also has gates." I'm unsure as to why Mr King would consider this so difficult. The gates would, presumably, be required to ensure tolls and taxes. Higham records the Fowey Blockhouse (qv) as the town defence.

This site has been described as Urban Defence.Town walls, banks and gates. Those built by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons or Danes are mentioned if they were maintained, at least partly, during the period 1000-1600. As with most fortifications of the period these were not simply defensive but reflected social status. Ambitious town leaders would petition for and build walls for the personally and civic kudos. Walls and ditches, or sometimes just isolated gates, also regulated trade and made collection of taxes easier. Some villages, in vulnerable areas, had simple defences of ditches to deter cattle raiders and 'wolves' (Although I doubt wolves were a real threat to any community at any time they were believed to be a threat)

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.

Nothing visible remains.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Books
- Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
  Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p203, 257
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p78
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p86
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p323

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

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Fowey Town Defences

Sources of information, references and further reading