As the principal Cornish seaport, the town sent Edward III no less than forty-seven ships and 770 mariners for the Calais expedition—a quota exceeded only by the eastern port of Yarmouth. Leland tells us that the place rose rapidly into importance "partely by feates of warre, partely by pyracie; and so waxing riche felle all to marchaundize, so that the towne was hauntid with shippes of diverse nations, and their shippes went to all nations". When the Cinque Ports of Rye and Winchelsea threatened to oust Fowey from its position as the premier Channel port, the Cornishmen defeated the mariners of Kent in a desperate sea fight, when they quartered the arms of the Cinque Ports on their own scutcheon, and assumed the title of "Fowey Gallaunts". They then made war on their own account against the French, and became little better than pirates ready to attack the ships of their own and every country, in port or on the high seas. They became such a thorn in the side of the king, Edward IV, by reason of their continuing to capture French ships after peace had been concluded, that the angry monarch caused them to be enticed to Lostwithiel, where their ringleaders were taken and hanged. From this period Fowey's maritime position began to decline. The inhabitants were compelled to pay a heavy fine, and the whole of their shipping was handed over to the port of Dartmouth.
Carew tells us that sixty ships belonged to Fowey at that period. The twin forts of Fowey were erected in the reign of Edward IV to protect the roadstead from the ravages of the French. Standing something like those below Dartmouth, on each side of the water, a thick boom or chain stretched across the mouth of the river would be sufficient protection against vessels propelled by sails. The last gallant action performed by these forts was in 1666, when they were assisted by the then almost new fort of St. Catherine. A Dutch fleet of eighty sail of the line was off the town in the hope of capturing an English fleet bound for Virginia, which had put into Fowey for shelter. A Dutch frigate of 74 guns attempted to force the entrance, but after being under the crossfire of the forts for two hours, was forced to tack about and regain the open sea.
Sir A. T. Quiller-Couch writes thus of Fowey in Troy Town. "The visitor," says he, "if he be of my mind, will find a charm in Fowey over and above its natural beauty, and what I may call its holiday conveniences, for the yachtsman, for the sea-fisherman, or for one content to idle in peaceful waters. It has a history, and carries the marks of it. It has also a flourishing trade and a life of its own."
The church of St. Fimbarrus, almost hidden from view except from the harbour side, is mainly of fifteenth-century date, although portions may well be a century earlier. The roof of the tall tower is richly decorated, and the north aisle is undoubtedly the remnant of a much earlier edifice. There are two good brasses and some interesting monuments, also a memorial to Sir John Treffry, who captured the French standard at the battle of Poictiers.
The most important piece of domestic architecture in the neighbourhood is Place House, the seat of the Treffry family. This is a fine Tudor mansion, that is said to occupy the site of a royal palace, reputed to have been the residence of the Earls of Cornwall. Leland records that on one occasion, when the French attempted to take the town, "the wife of Thomas Treffry with her servants, repelled their enemies out of the house, in her husband's absence; whereupon he builded a right faire and strong embattled tower in his house, and embattled it to the walls of his house". The ancient church also is worth a visit, and among its many memorials is an elaborate monument to one of the Rashleigh family, another of the old Cornish families, whose history seems to be as ancient as the legends of the county. The inscription on the tomb reads:—
"JOHN RAISHELEIGHE LYVED YEARES THREESCORE THREE
AND THEN DID YEILDE TO DYE,
HE DID BEQVEATHE HIS SOVLE TO GOD
HIS CORPS HEREIN TO LYE.