Safe Passage
The mouth of the river Fowey has been guarded by the chapel of St. Saviour on the headland at Polruan since probably the 8th or 9th centuries. It was a prominent landmark for mariners at sea marking the entrance to the harbour. At night a beacon was lit in the tower. It also was a useful lookout point giving notice of approaching enemy ships. The original chapel was small, but possibly enlarged by Sir Richard Edgcumbe in 1488, to give thanks for the safe return of his ships after their voyage to Ireland. After 1572 it fell into disrepair following the dissolution of the monasteries. The Chapel is now an ancient monument, belonging to the people of Polruan, and preserved as an open space by the Town Trust.
Erected by Trinity House in 1832 ‘for the safety of commerce and the preservation of mariners’ the Gribbin Head daymark pinpoints the approach to Fowey’s narrow and rocky harbour entrance. At 26m tall and banded in red and white stripes, the tower stood out on the headland, ensuring that that sailors did not mistake the treacherous shallows of St Austell Bay for the deep waters of Falmouth harbour.
St Catherine’s Point Lighthouse is a short red cast iron circular tower lighthouse with a traditional light by the entrance to the Fowey estuary. Operated by the local Port Authority, the tower is 20 feet high and the light is visible for 15 miles.
Safe Passage
The mouth of the river Fowey has been guarded by the chapel of St. Saviour on the headland at Polruan since probably the 8th or 9th centuries. It was a prominent landmark for mariners at sea marking the entrance to the harbour. At night a beacon was lit in the tower. It also was a useful lookout point giving notice of approaching enemy ships. The original chapel was small, but possibly enlarged by Sir Richard Edgcumbe in 1488, to give thanks for the safe return of his ships after their voyage to Ireland. After 1572 it fell into disrepair following the dissolution of the monasteries. The Chapel is now an ancient monument, belonging to the people of Polruan, and preserved as an open space by the Town Trust.
Erected by Trinity House in 1832 ‘for the safety of commerce and the preservation of mariners’ the Gribbin Head daymark pinpoints the approach to Fowey’s narrow and rocky harbour entrance. At 26m tall and banded in red and white stripes, the tower stood out on the headland, ensuring that that sailors did not mistake the treacherous shallows of St Austell Bay for the deep waters of Falmouth harbour.
St Catherine’s Point Lighthouse is a short red cast iron circular tower lighthouse with a traditional light by the entrance to the Fowey estuary. Operated by the local Port Authority, the tower is 20 feet high and the light is visible for 15 miles.