Penryn Harbour Chain

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

Leland writes "The first creek on the north-west side of Falmouth Houbour leads to Penryn, where it divides into two. The smaller leads to Glassiney College, a kind of green nest or quagmire at Penryn, and the other to the parish church of Penryn, St Gluvias. One arm breaks out of Penryn Creek on each side before it reaches the town. Just below the place where the creek divides into two there are stakes and stone foundations set in the water, with a chain across a gap in the middle."

This site has been described as a Chain Tower.

A form of harbour defence where a chain is extended across the entry into a harbour to prevent access by enemy vessels. The mechanism housing the chain and allowing it to be raised and lowered was housed in a defensive tower, often an artillery fort in it's own right.

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

Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW7834

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p72

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

Penryn Harbour Chain

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW7834

Sources of information, references and further reading