LOOE  , a seaport and

market town in the Bodmin parliamentary division of Cornwall, England, 17 M. by sea W. of Plymouth, a terminus of the Liskeard & Looe light railway . Pop . (1901) 2548 . It is divided by the river into East Looe and West Looe; and is sheltered so completely by the surrounding hills that myrtles, geraniums, fuchsias and other delicate plants flourish at all seasons in the open air . Its lanes are narrow, steep and winding; many of the houses are entered by wooden staircases; and though considerably modernized the town has a medieval air . Inland, the shores of the river are richly wooded; and towards the sea they rise on the south into rugged cliffs . The parish church of St Martin, which stands I m. outside the town, has a Norman doorway and font . Among other buildings may be mentioned the ancient chapel of St Nicholas in West Looe, restored in 1862; and the old town-hall, where the ancient pillory is preserved . A considerable export trade in copper, tin and granite was formerly carried on, and the last is still exported, tut the chief trade is in grain; while timber, coal and limestone are imported . There are also thriving fisheries, the Looe fisher-men being particularly expert with the seine on a rocky bottom . The inlet of Trelawne is one of the most exquisite wooded coombes in Cornwall . At its head are the remains of a camp, connected with the Giant's Hedge, a raised earthwork which extends for 7 M. in a straight line, as far as a larger camp, on Bury Down, and is of Danish or Saxon construction .

Trelawne, a

fine old mansion belonging to the family of Trelawny, dates in part from the 15th century, but has been very largely restored . The harbourage was probably the original cause of settlement at Looe . At the time of the Domesday Survey East Looe was assessed under Pendrym, which was of the king's demesne and West Looe under Hamelin's manor of Trelowia . In the 14th century the former manor was held by the family of Bodrugan; the latter by that of Dauney, who had inherited it from the Treverbyns . In 1237 Henry Bodrugan received the grant of a market on Fridays and a fair at Michaelmas in his manor of Pendrym . In 1301 his grandson and namesake granted to East Looe a market and fair, view of frank pledge, ducking stool and pillory and assize of bread and ale . Otto Bodrugan in 1320 granted the burgesses the privilege of electing their own portreeve and controlling the trade of the town . A charter of incorporation was granted in 1558 under which the common council was to consist of a mayor and 8 chief burgesses . There was to be a court of record, a market on Saturdays and fairs at Michaelmas and Candlemas . In 1685 James II. provided that there should be a mayor and 11 aldermen, 36 free burgesses, 4 fairs and a court of pie powder . East Looe was governed under this charter until 1885 . West Looe (known also as Porpighan or Porbuan) benefited by a charter granted by Richard king of the Romans to Odo Treverbyn and ratified in 1325 constituting it a free borough whose burgesses were to be free of all custom throughout Corn-wall .

Residence for a year and a day within the borough conferred freedom from servitude . There were to be a market on Wednesdays and a fair at Michaelmas . Hugh son of Odo Treverbyn gave West Looe the privileges enjoyed by Helston and Launceston . Upon the attainder of the earl of Devon in 1539 the borough fell to the crown and was annexed to the duchy . In 1574 a charter of incorporation was granted, providing for a mayor and 11 burgesses, also for a market on Wednesdays and two fairs . West Looe continued to be administered under this charter until 1869, when the death of the mayor deprived the council of its only surviving member and elector . Parliamentary representation was conferred upon East Looe in 1571 and upon West Looe in 1553 . In the debate on the reform bill O'Connell stated that there was but one borough more rotten than East Looe and that was West Looe . Looe was second only to Fowey as a port in the 15th century . It furnished 20 ships for the siege of Calais . Of the markets and fairs only the markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays and a fair on the 6th of May remain .