Editing Looe (section)

==History==

===Prehistory and foundation===
Archaeological evidence indicates that the area around Looe has been inhabited since the [[Neolithic]] period (although a possible series of ancient field systems, south of nearby Penarthtown, could suggest earlier [[Paleolithic|Palaeolithic]] activity).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO38859&resourceID=1020 |access-date=12 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> A Neolithic stone axe, made of [[Elvan|greenstone]], was found in 1978 on a tidal gravel bank in the bed of West Looe River.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO1828&resourceID=1020 |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> Further Neolithic finds, such as flint arrow heads, have also been found in the fields above Trenant Point.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO39881&resourceID=1020 |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> Furthermore, the site of a large perfect [[Bronze Age]] [[tumulus]] and most likely the site for a post medieval [[beacon]]<ref name="pastscape.org.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=434864|title=Pastscape - Detailed Result: MONUMENT NO. 434864|website=www.pastscape.org.uk|access-date=21 January 2020}}</ref> was located in a field just north of Hillcrest Nursing home in East Looe. Unfortunately, some time after 1823 the site was levelled,<ref name="pastscape.org.uk"/> thus leaving no trace of the large barrow to be seen today. Additional [[Tumulus|tumuli]] have also been noted in the area of Looe, such as at the locally known Wooldown field<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO3061&resourceID=1020 |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> and at the base of Shutta hill,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO61393&resourceID=1020 |access-date=12 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> however neither of the tumuli are visible today. Throughout the Looe area, there are also numerous [[Iron Age]] and [[Romano-British culture|Romano-British]] forts. These include the nearby forts/settlements near [[Trelawne]] and Great Tree.

Additionally, there are some archaeological evidence to suggest there was some small scale [[Roman Empire|Roman]] influence and possible occupation in Looe. For example, during the early 1800s, a very probable Roman [[urn]] was found whilst developing the road on St Martins hill. It is said that the urn was brown in colour, was about 10 inches high and contained several burnt human bone fragments.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO61395&resourceID=1020 |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> Close to the spot where the urn was found, a rock containing numerous specimens of [[bivalve shell]]s, most likely [[Terebratula]], was found. Unfortunately however, the exact location of the burial and the whereabouts of the urn has been lost to time.<ref name="auto"/> Subsequently, earthwork remains, of two rectilinear enclosures, can be seen using [[Lidar|LiDar]] in fields near [[Trelawne]] just outside Looe. [[Morphology (archaeology)|Morphology]] suggests that the southern enclosure could possibly be a Roman signal station however the site has never been formally excavated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO67280&resourceID=1020 |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> Furthermore, pieces of a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] [[amphorae]], stone boat anchors, Roman coins and a number of late prehistoric or Romano-British finds have been made in the vicinity of nearby Looe Island. A large bronze ingot was found by divers to the south of the island. This has led to a number of historians to suggest that the island could possibly be [[Ictis]], the tin trading island seen by [[Pytheas]] in the 4th century BC and recalled by [[Diodorus Siculus]] in the 1st century BC. Additionally, a small hoard of eight late Roman coins was recovered in 2008. These coins were recovered from one of the shallow ditches forming a 'pear-shaped enclosure' which encompassed the top of Looe Island and the later Christian chapel site. All eight coins date to the late 3rd or early 4th century AD.

One of Looe's greatest archaeological mysteries is the so called 'Giant's Hedge', which is an ancient earthwork which runs over 9 miles between the Looe and [[Fowey]] Estuaries. In some places it is still twelve feet high, and where it is best preserved (for example, in Willake Wood) it is stone-faced and flanked by a ditch. Over the years, there have been many theories to what the ancient earthwork may have been or its intended purpose. While the name and early folklore suggests it was built by a giant, as the rhyme goes ''"One day, the Devil having nothing to do, built a great hedge from Lerryn to Looe"'', the general consensus is that this linear earthwork marked the boundary of a post-Roman kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giant's Hedge Cornwall, tourist guide & map, events, accommodation, businesses, history, photos, videos |url=https://www.intocornwall.com/engine/azabout.asp?guide=Giant%27s+Hedge |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=www.intocornwall.com |language=en}}</ref> During the mid-18th century, British antiquarian [[William Copeland Borlase|William Borlase]] believed the earthwork to be the remnants of a [[Roman roads|Roman road]], that would connect Looe to the [[Fowey]] estuary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grigg |first=Erik |title=Dark Age dykes of Cornwall |url=https://www.academia.edu/37647962}}</ref> Whilst this theory is now disputed by some historians, there has been some archaeological finds, such as a hoard of Roman coins found at [[Lerryn]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO48664&resourceID=1020 |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> and a possible Roman fort at [[Lanreath]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO40100&resourceID=1020 |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref> that could back this theory. Other theories suggest that 'Giant's Hedge' is actually far more ancient and may even date back to the [[Bronze Age|bronze age]]. For example, Dr Keith Ray, the County Archaeologist for Oxfordshire, who is making a special study of the Giant's Hedge, is convinced that it originally continued on the west side of the [[River Fowey]] and was defended there by [[Castle Dore]]. Along the Hedge, there are numerous [[Bronze Age|bronze age]] [[Tumulus|barrows]], [[hillfort]]s and ancient enclosures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giant's Hedge |url=https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/766/giants_hedge.html}}</ref> Such as the Hall Rings, Kilminorth fort, the fort at Yearle's Wood and many more. It is likely that the secrets behind 'Giant's Hedge' may never be known, perhaps the history of the Hedge could even be a combination of different time periods.
[[File:The Giant's Hedge, near Lanreath - geograph.org.uk - 1139260.jpg|thumb|Image of part of the Giant's Hedge, taken near Lanreath]]
At the time of the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086 the [[Manorialism|manor]] of Pendrym, which included much of the site of modern-day East Looe, was still held by [[William the Conqueror]], as part of his own [[demesne]], which he later devolved to the Bodgrugan ([[Bodrigan]]) family. Land across the river belonged to the manors of Portalla (or Portallant) and Portbyhan (variously spelt Portbyan, Porthbyghan, Porthpyghan, among others).

Shutta, on the steep hillside over East Looe, is recorded as being inhabited by the 12th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilovelooe.co.uk/looe/|title=Looe Cornwall geography, history, accommodation, events and Looe guide|website=www.ilovelooe.co.uk|access-date=26 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327090056/https://ilovelooe.co.uk/looe/|archive-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> Between 1154 and 1189 [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] granted a [[Royal charter|charter]] in favour of [[Henry Bodrugan|Sir Henry Bodrugan]] as [[Mayor]] of East Looe. West Looe was given free [[borough]] status sometime after this (the first known historical mention of the town dates from 1327) and in the 1230s East Looe secured the right to hold a weekly market and a [[Michaelmas]] [[fair]]. East Looe's layout looks like a "planted borough", a concept similar to modern [[new town]]s, since most of its streets form a grid-like pattern.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/parking/cornwall-council-car-parks/car-park-locations-charges-and-facilities/looe-area/|title=Looe area - Cornwall Council|first=Cornwall|last=Council|website=www.cornwall.gov.uk|access-date=26 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084243/http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/parking/cornwall-council-car-parks/car-park-locations-charges-and-facilities/looe-area/|archive-date=27 March 2018}}</ref>

Low-lying parts of Looe continue to suffer frequent [[flooding]] when the [[tide]]s are very high. For practical reasons, most [[fishermen]]'s houses in ancient Looe, like elsewhere along the south coast, were constructed with their living quarters upstairs and a storage area at [[Storey|ground level]] below: for [[boat]]s, [[tool]]s and [[fishing tackle]], ''etc''; these are termed "fishermen's [[Basement|cellars]]".<ref>[http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/term_definitions.asp?thesaurus_code=ty&term_id=3699 www.ncl.ac.uk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129083555/http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/term_definitions.asp?thesaurus_code=ty&term_id=3699 |date=29 November 2014 }}</ref>

===Early churches===
Some time before 1144, [[Order of Saint Benedict|the Order of Saint Benedict]] occupied [[Looe Island]], building a chapel there, and the monks established a rudimentary lighthouse service using [[beacon]]s. Another chapel was founded on an opposite hillside just outside West Looe; both are now marked only by ruins.

The parish church of East Looe was at [[St Martin by Looe]] but there was a [[chapel of ease]] in the town. [[St Mary's Church, East Looe]] was dedicated in 1259 by [[Walter Bronscombe]], [[Bishop of Exeter]]. Despite rebuilding commencing in 1805, it has since fallen into disrepair, although the original Tower still remains. On the centre of the bridge in medieval times stood the Chapel of St Anne (dedicated in 1436): this dedication was attributed to the town chapel by [[George Oliver (freemason)|Dr George Oliver]] and has been adopted ever since, displacing that of St Mary.<ref name="Cornish Church Guide 1925 pp. 148-49">''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 148-49</ref>

West Looe comprised part of the [[parish]] of [[Talland]] since the early [[Middle Ages]], but a chapel of ease, [[St Nicholas' Church, West Looe]] was extant before 1330 when it is recorded as being further endowed and enlarged. After spells as a [[Guildhall|common hall]] and a schoolhouse, this building has reverted to its original ecclesiastical use, having been substantially restored in 1852, 1862 and 1915.<ref name="Cornish Church Guide 1925 pp. 148-49"/>

===Medieval era===
{{see also|Looe Bridge}}
[[File:FoweyLooeRiversMapCornwallUK.gif|thumb|Sketchmap of the East and West Looe Rivers]]
The town was able to provide some 20 ships for the [[Siege of Calais (1346)|Siege of Calais]] in 1347.

An early wooden bridge over the Looe River was in place by 1411; but it burned down and was replaced by [[Looe Bridge|the first stone bridge]], completed in 1436. This featured a chapel dedicated to [[Saint Anne|St Anne]] in the middle. The current bridge, a seven-arched [[Victorian era|Victorian]] bridge, was opened in 1853. By that time Looe had become a major port, one of Cornwall's largest, exporting local [[tin]], [[arsenic]] and [[granite]], as well as hosting thriving [[fishing]] and [[Boat building|boatbuilding]] industries.

With effective civic leadership, Looe thrived in the Middle Ages and Tudor era, being both a busy port and situated with close access to the main road from London to [[Penzance]]. By then the [[textile industry]] was an important part of the town's economy, in addition to the traditional boatbuilding and fishing (particularly [[pilchard]]s and [[crab]]s). Trade and transport to and from thriving [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] also contributed to the town's success. The [[Old Guildhall, Looe|Old Guildhall]] in East Looe is believed to have dated from around 1450.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://welcometolooe.com/explore/the-old-guildhall-museum-looe/|title=The Old Guildhall Museum, Looe|publisher=Welcome to Looe|access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref>

The constituencies of [[East Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|East Looe]] and [[West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|West Looe]] were incorporated as [[parliamentary borough]]s in 1571 and 1553 respectively. They both survived as [[rotten borough]]s. and each returned two [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) to the [[unreformed House of Commons]] until the [[Great Reform Act]] of 1832. For example, [[Charles Wager|Admiral Sir Charles Wager]], a son and grandson of Kentish mariners, was an MP for West Looe early in his political career (1713–1715) and at the end of it (1741–1743). The [[coat of arms|seal]] of East Looe was [[blazon]]ed ''An antique one-mast vessel in it a man and boy against the side of the hulk three escutcheons each charges with three bends'', with the legend "Si, comunetatis de Loo". The seal of West Looe was ''An armed man holding a bow in his right hand and an arrow in his left'', with the legend "Por-tu-an ''vel'' Wys Westlo".<ref>{{cite book|last=Pascoe|first=W. H.|title=A Cornish Armory|page=133|year=1979|publisher=Lodenek Press|location=Padstow, Cornwall|isbn=0-902899-76-7}}</ref>

===17th century===
In June 1625, the fishing port of Looe was raided by [[Barbary pirates]] who streamed into the cobbled streets and forced their way into cottages and taverns. Much to their fury, they discovered that the villagers had been forewarned of their arrival and many had fled into the surrounding orchards and meadows to escape. The pirates still managed to seize eighty mariners and fishermen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/servlet/DCARead?standardNo=0374289352&standardNoType=1&excerpt=true|title=White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and Islam's One Million White Slaves|website=www.worldcat.org|access-date=21 January 2020}}</ref> Those unfortunate individuals were led away in chains to [[Barbary Coast|North Africa]] to be enslaved, and the town itself was torched. 
[[File:Lantau, an historic town house.jpg|thumb|Example of Elizabethan house in East Looe]]

===19th century===
[[File:Looe (2023-04-08) 11.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The new [[Looe Guildhall]] in Fore Street]]
By the start of the 1800s, Looe's fortunes were in decline. The [[Napoleonic Wars]] had taken their toll on the country; in 1803, the town formed a volunteer company to man guns in defence against attack from the French. The blockade of 1808, which prevented the Looe fleet from reaching their pilchard-fishing areas, also put considerable financial strain on the community. In 1805, the old St. Mary's Chapel (apart from the [[Bell tower|tower]]) had to be demolished due to dilapidation, and in 1817, the town was badly damaged by heavy storms and flooding.

With the building of the [[Liskeard and Looe Union Canal]] linking Looe to [[Liskeard]] in 1828, and the development of booming [[copper]] mines in the [[Caradon]] area from 1837, Looe's fortunes began to revive. The Herodsfoot mine produced 13,470 tons of lead between 1848 and 1884 and more than 17 tons of silver between 1853 and 1884. The canal was used first to transport [[Lime (mineral)|lime]] from [[Wales]] for use in Cornish farming, and later to carry copper and granite between the railhead at Liskeard (from where rail links reached to the [[Cheesewring]] on [[Bodmin Moor]]) and the port of Looe. In 1856 the large quay of East Looe was built to handle the demands of the shipping trade, and in 1860, with the canal unable to keep up with demand, [[Looe Valley Line|a railway]] was built linking Looe to [[Moorswater]] near Liskeard, along the [[towpath]] of the canal, which was used less and less until, by 1910, traffic ceased entirely. The railway was later linked to Liskeard proper, and as the mining boom came to an end, it adapted to carry passengers in 1879.

In 1866, a [[Lifeboat (rescue)|lifeboat]] station had been established on East Looe Beach, and in 1877 a new town hall was built: the new [[Looe Guildhall]].<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Guildhall|num=1280863|access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref> Around this time recommendations were made that the two towns be merged under one governing body, and despite much protest '''Looe Urban District Council''' was formed in 1898<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Byron|first1=G.W.|title=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom|date=1977|volume=57|issue=1|pages=75–92|doi=10.1017/S002531540002124X |s2cid=84478616 |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4318260&fileId=S002531540002124X|access-date=21 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725114607/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4318260&fileId=S002531540002124X|archive-date=25 July 2015|doi-access=free}}</ref> with jurisdiction over the communities on both sides of the River Looe.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=u45nAAAAMAAJ   |title=A History of East and West Looe|first= John|last= Keast |year= 1987|page=79|publisher=Phillimore|isbn=978-0850336153|quote=in 1898 the Looe Urban District Council came into being, comprising East and West Looe and part of the parish of Talland, and taking over management of the East Looe Town Trust}}</ref>

===20th century and beyond===
[[File:Celtic Cross War Memorial Looe - panoramio.jpg|thumb|The war memorial]]
[[File:Burgee of Looe Sailing Club.svg|thumb|Burgee of Looe Sailing Club, established in 1934]]
With the Victorian fashion for seaside holidays, Looe evolved as a tourist town, with nearby [[Talland Bay]] being dubbed "the playground of Plymouth". This trend continued throughout the 20th century; more and more hotels and tourist facilities were built in the town, and Looe grew and prospered, with peaks in fishing and boatbuilding following the First and Second World Wars.

New Zealand writer [[Katherine Mansfield]] stayed in Looe for spring and summer 1918, while recovering from [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/brick-red-frock-flowers-everywhere-painting-katherine-mansfield|title='That brick red frock with flowers everywhere': painting Katherine Mansfield|website=theartsdesk.com|date=15 June 2018 |language=en|access-date=18 September 2018}}</ref> She joined there her long-time friend the American painter [[Anne Estelle Rice]], who famously painted her in red.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/41995|title=Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|website=collections.tepapa.govt.nz|language=en|access-date=18 September 2018}}</ref> The ''Portrait of Katherine Mansfield'' made in Looe has been exhibited since 1946 in the [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|Te Papa Tongarewa museum of New Zealand]].

Looe and its surrounds are the filming location of BBC television crime drama ''[[Beyond Paradise (TV series)|Beyond Paradise]]'', which first aired in 2023. It stands in for the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/where-beyond-paradise-filmed-location-icornwall-bbcs-death-in-paradise-spin-off-series-2151396|title=Beyond Paradise filming location in Cornwall for the BBC's Death in Paradise spin-off series|first=Lucy|last=Aplin|date=15 February 2023|website=inews.co.uk}}</ref>