Topsail Schooner Little Mystery Moored at Fowey ~ Cornwall, England, 1887

oil, 24” x 36”

$15,500

The village of Fowey, off England’s Cornish Coast is famous for many things. In the 12th NS 14th Centuries, it was the Administrative Capital of Cornwall. The charm of the village’s winding streets and medieval architecture, like the Restormel Castle (today an English Heritage site) – attracted famed 2oth century Romantic Novelist Daphne De Maurier (1907-1089), who made Fowey her home from 1926, until her death in 1989- an annual literary festival is held in the village each year in her memory.  Novelist Kenneth Grahame wrote most of his children’s novels, including ‘The Wind in the Willows,’ at the Fowey Inn.

Fowey’s Deep Water Harbor has been an important port since before Norman times – supporting active trading throughout the Mediterranean, and importing clay from China. During the Hundred Year’s War (1337-1453) the ‘Fowey Gallants’ were granted Privateer licenses to attack and take French ships. It remained an active trading port into the 20th century. David Thimgan’s stunning painting shows a view of Whitehorse Quay in 1887, with a large Clippership anchored, and two coastal schooners moored at the wharf. Closest to us is the Little Mystery, built in Devon in 1887 at William Gate’s yard for John Stephens of Fowey. While he retained principle ownership, twenty other Fowey residents, including the Butcher, and the Baker among others, each owning a share of Little Mystery, traded goods to Europe and even to Newfoundland, Canada, until she was sunk by gunfire in June, 1917, during World War I, off the Isle of Wight. A detailed scale model of her is in the collection at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Today Fowey is a popular destination for European yachts and the Fowey Regatta is held annually.