History of Looe and Polperro

William the Conqueror as part of his own demesne and came to be managed by 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 known to have been inhabited by the twelfth century. At some time between 1154 and 1189 a charter was granted by Henry II to Sir Henry Bodrugan for the town 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 gained the right to hold a weekly market and a Michaelmas fair.

In these early days, East Looe may have been a "planted borough", a concept similar to modern new towns; much of it is laid out in a grid-like pattern. Even today the low-lying parts of Looe suffer frequent flooding when the tides are very high. Most houses in early Looe would have been constructed with the living quarters upstairs above storage areas for boats, tools and fishing tackle.

Polperro was originally under the jurisdiction of two ancient manors, those of Raphael which included the western part in the parish of Lansallos, and Killigarth which included the eastern part in the parish of Talland. mentioned in the Domesday Book. As early as the 13th century it was known for fishing, and it is first recorded in a Royal document in 1303.

Polperro Later history

The date of the older quay is uncertain but it was conjectured by Jonathan Couch (writing in the mid-19th century) that it is either the one mentioned by John Leland or one built upon the same site. It was probably built under the