Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England. The town has been in existence since before 1300; the estuary of the River Fowey forms a natural harbour which enabled the town to become an important trading centre. Privateers also made use of the sheltered harbourage. The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway brought China clay here for export.
Popular legend has it that Jesus visited Fowey as a child, along with Joseph of Arimathea who was a merchant visiting local tin mines in which he had a commercial interest. At the entrance to the River, on the eastern side below the cliffs to the south-west of St Saviour's Point, there is a cross to commemorate this supposed visit. This cross is marked on very early charts and was maintained by monks from Tywardreath. The cross is known locally as "Punches Cross", supposedly derived from the name of Pontius Pilate.
One hundred yards west of the lighthouse on the west of the harbour entrance, about thirty feet below the top of the cliff edge and broadly concealed, is a small grass area known as "Johnny May's Chapel". This name is believed to be that of a Methodist preacher at the time when Nonconformism was persecuted.
