Plymouth

PLYMOUTH, a sea-port, borough, and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Rororough, Roborough and S. divisions of Devon, 44 miles (S. W.) from Exeter, and 215 (W. S. W.) from London; containing, exclusively of the out-parts of the parishes of St. Andrew and Charles the Martyr, 36,520 inhabitants. This is one of the principal naval and military stations in the kingdom, and, during war, the most important station, as commanding the entrance of the English Channel, and being the grand rendezvous of the channel fleet. By some it is supposed to be the Tameorwerthe of the Saxons. At the Conquest, it was known as a small fishing-town, which, under the appellation of Sutton, or South Town, was dependent on the abbey of Plympton; some time afterwards it obtained the name of Plymouth, descriptive of its situation on the river Plym near its influx into the bay called Plymouth Sound. Henry III., in the 37th of his reign, granted to the prior of Plympton a market and a fair here, with the right of holding weekly courts, assize of bread and beer, and view of frankpledge. The port became at an early period the occasional rendezvous of the British navy; here Edward the Black Prince embarked in 1355 on his expedition to France, and landed on his return, with his royal prisoners. From the convenience of its harbour the town appears to have soon obtained a considerable degree of importance, and to have become extremely populous. The French effected a landing here in the course of this reign, and attempted to burn the place, but were repulsed by the intrepidity of Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire, who, with the neighbouring gentry and their vassals, drove them back to their ships, with the loss of 500 men. They made various other attempts; and, in the reign of Henry IV., landed with a party of troops from Bretagne, under the command of the Marshal de Bretagne and Monsieur De Castell, and, before any effectual resistance could be opposed to them, burnt several houses; but failing in their design to reduce the castle, and take possession of the higher part of the town, they retreated to their ships, and proceeded to Dartmouth, where De Castell and several hundred of his men were made prisoners.

From this period the town declined into a mere fishing-village again, till the time of Henry VI. In that king's reign it was improved greatly by the prior of Plympton, who rebuilt many of the houses, and, by granting liberal leases, encouraged persons to reside here, thus considerably promoting the increase of its population; its port was once more frequented by merchants, its trade revived, and its importance as a naval and military station became apparent. On a petition from the inhabitants, urging the necessity of fortifying the town against future assaults of the enemy, the king granted them a toll on all merchandise entering the port. To the fortifications raised by these means, Leland alludes in his description of the place, with which a chart taken in the reign of Henry VIII., and now in the British Museum, exactly coincides. In the 18th of Henry VI. (1439) the town was incorporated, under the designation of Plymouth; and the manor of Sutton-Prior, with all its rights and appurtenances, was settled on the corporation, with a reserved annual rent of £40 payable to the prior of Plympton, and an annuity of ten marks to the abbot of Bath. In 1512, an act was passed for enlarging and strengthening the fortifications, a grant of indulgences being issued by Bishop Lacy to all who contributed to that work; and to prevent the accumulation of sand at the mouth of the harbour, the tin-miners were prohibited working in the neighbourhood of any river communicating with the sea at Plymouth. In the 27th of Elizabeth, the corporation obtained an act of parliament for supplying the town with fresh water, which was brought by Sir Francis Drake (who displayed in the work considerable engineering ability) from the confines of Dartmoor, by a channel locally called a leat, which, after a circuitous course of 24 miles, discharges itself into a reservoir in the town.

In 1588, the British fleet of 120 sail, to which the port contributed seven ships, assembled in Plymouth Sound, under the command of Charles, Lord Howard (afterwards Earl of Nottingham), Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins, to oppose the Spanish Armada. The Armada, first appearing off Penlee Point, the Hoe, and adjacent coast, advanced to the east, where it was attacked by the British fleet, joined by other ships from Dartmouth; and after several rencounters, being driven by fireships from its anchorage off Calais, and having suffered severely from a storm, this formidable armament was annihilated. In 1595, a body of Spaniards effected a landing on the coast of Cornwall, but their progress was checked by the activity of Sir Francis Godolphin; and twenty-two chests, full of Papal bulls, dispensations, and pardons, which had been taken in that county, were brought into Plymouth and burnt in the market-place. In 1596, the port was the place of rendezvous for the British fleet destined for the expedition against Cadiz, under the command of the Earls of Essex and Nottingham, in which Lord Howard was viceadmiral, and Sir Walter Raleigh rear-admiral. From it also the Earl of Essex embarked on his unfortunate expedition to Ireland.

In 1625, Charles I., with 120 ships and 6000 troops, arrived from Portsmouth, and remained in the town for ten days, during which time he was sumptuously entertained, with his whole court, by the mayor and commonalty. At the commencement of the parliamentary war, the inhabitants, embracing the cause of the parliament, seized the town during the absence of the king's delegate; and in 1643, the royalists under Prince Maurice and Colonel Digby, having made an ineffectual attempt at a siege and blockade, were worsted in partial skirmishes, and compelled to withdraw their forces. After repeated attempts to obtain possession of the town, Sir R. Grenville endeavoured to blockade it, but he was repulsed by the arrival of the Earl of Essex. Sir Richard commenced a second blockade, but this also, after a continuance of nearly a year and a half, was found unavailing, and notwithstanding several assaults, the parliamentarians remained in possession of the town. Many of the fortifications and military works which were raised at this time, are still perceptible on the heights in the vicinity. After the Restoration, the present citadel was erected, and the fortifications rendered more complete. Since that era, few events of historical importance have occurred at Plymouth. On the appearance of the combined fleets in the Channel, in 1779, the French prisoners of war were removed from this place to Exeter. In 1815, the Bellerophon anchored in the Sound, having on board the Emperor Napoleon. In 1828, the Russian fleet remained for some time in the harbour, while waiting for tidings of the admiral's ship, which had parted from it in a storm; and in 1829, Don Miguel, Regent of Portugal, visited Plymouth, which subsequently afforded an hospitable asylum for several months to 3000 of the adherents of Don Pedro of Brazil.

The town is pleasantly situated at the mouth of the river Plym, on the north shore of the Sound. The eastern portion consists of several irregularly-formed streets, some of which are inconveniently narrow; the western part is more regularly built, and contains many ranges of handsome and substantial houses, among which are fine specimens of architecture: the town is lighted with gas, and amply supplied with excellent water. The surrounding scenery abounds with objects of striking interest. From the summit of the Hoe, an eminence near the town, is seen, on the south, the spacious Sound, containing within the Breakwater an area of nearly five square miles, affording safe anchorage to ships of the largest burthen, and bounded on the west by the richlywooded heights of Mount-Edgcumbe, and on the east by Mount Batten and the Wembury cliffs. The fortified summit of Drake or St. Nicholas Island, is seen near the shore, and the Breakwater in the distance. The inland view is bounded by the lofty elevations of Cornwall, and the barren heights of Dartmoor; the foreground containing the towns of Plymouth, Stonehouse, and Devonport, in a long-continued line. The place is chiefly distinguished for the capaciousness of its harbours, and the importance of its commerce: the naval arsenal, and yards for building ships of war, are noticed under the head of Devonport.

The principal harbours are the Sound, Sutton Pool, the Hamoaze, Stonehouse Pool, Barn Pool, and the Catwater. The Sound, which is capable of floating 2000 vessels, has been rendered more secure by the construction of the Breakwater, one of the greatest works ever effected in England. This immense barrier, which was commenced on August 12th, 1812, and has during its progress experienced two severe trials, effectually proving its strength and utility, is composed of blocks of Plymouth marble of several tons' weight, and is in length at the base 1760 yards, and in breadth 120, with an extension at each end 250 yards long, placed at an angle of 20° with the main body. The slope facing the sea is much more gradual than the inclination toward the land; the flat surface on the top forms a fine promenade. From the time of its commencement until the 31st of March, 1841, 3,369,261 tons of stone were deposited upon the work, and the total expense of its construction will, it is estimated, be one million and a half sterling: the first stone of a lighthouse on the western extremity of the Breakwater was laid in February 1841. On the eastern side of the Sound, at Staddon Point, is a quay for the accommodation of vessels taking in fresh water; and near it, in a hollow between two hills, is a reservoir, capable of containing 12,000 tons of water for the use of the navy, and which is constantly supplied by an excellent stream.

The Eddystone Lighthouse, which, as a successful effort of art, is even more extraordinary than the gigantic structure just described, is built on a rock in the Channel, about fifteen miles south-south-west from Plymouth. In 1696, a wooden lighthouse was erected on the rock by Mr. Winstanley, who was so convinced of its security, that he desired to be within it during "the greatest storm that might ever blow under the heavens;" his wish was fatally fulfilled, for in Nov. 1703, he perished with the structure itself. A second house, of stone and timber, was completed by Mr. Rudyerd in 1709, which was destroyed by an accidental fire in Dec. 1755; the present building was begun on the 1st of June, 1757, and completed in Oct. 1759, according to the masterly design of Smeaton. It is of octagonal form, 100 feet high, and 26 feet in diameter; the outside and basement are of granite, and the lantern on the summit is composed of cast-iron and copper. The Citadel is a noble fortification, consisting of three regular and two irregular bastions, the curtains of the former being strengthened by ravelins, &c.; it includes houses for the officers, barracks, an hospital, chapel, magazine, and armoury. The ramparts are three-quarters of a mile in circuit. Here are in general from 400 to 500 men, a portion of whom relieve the garrison on St. Nicholas' Island every month. The Old Victualling-Office is below the citadel, on the east; the vast range of buildings here is now the property of some merchants, and other portions constitute part of the glacis of the citadel. The Mill-Bay prisons of war are capable of holding 3000 men; the building stands on an eminence near the sea, and is not only healthy, but convenient for the landing of prisoners.

The greatest architectural ornament in the town is the Royal Hotel, Assembly-room, and Theatre, comprised in one design, and covering nearly an acre of ground. The north-west front is nearly 300 feet in length, the centre being decorated with an Ionic portico of eight columns, under which is the entrance to the assemblyroom and the theatre; the former is an elegant apartment, 80 feet in length and 40 feet wide, with Corinthian columns. The theatre is sufficiently spacious, and appropriately decorated; the proscenium is ornamented with Ionic columns, and the scenery is superior to what might be expected in a provincial town. The entrance to the inn is under a smaller portico at the eastern side of the building. This noble structure was commenced in September 1811, and completed at an expense of £50,000, by the corporation. Near it is the Athenæum, of inferior magnitude, though of equal architectural merit; its front exhibits a Grecian-Doric portico, and in the interior is a spacious lecture-room, decorated with casts from the Elgin marbles, &c. The foundation stone was laid in 1818, by Henry Woolcombe, Esq., president of the Plymouth Institution for the Promotion of the Arts, Science, and Literature; and the institution was opened on February 4th, 1819. A volume of transactions is published from time to time, and there are triennial exhibitions of pictures. The Public Library, founded by George Eastlake, Esq., in 1812, a simple classical building, is another ornament to the town; adjoining the library, which is a vaulted apartment, are reading and committee rooms. In one of these rooms is a law library; and the town also has a medical library, and one of divinity. The Freemasons' Hall is a well-designed edifice, including, besides the hall used by the brethren, an auction-room and a commercial newsroom. A mechanics' institute was opened in December 1827. In 1838 the Devon and Cornwall Natural-History Society was established; it meets in the upper rooms of the Union Sea Baths, and an extensive museum and naturalist's library have been formed. The Union Baths comprise shower, vapour, and swimming baths, a reading-room, and a room for refreshments: the waters of a medicinal spring named the Victoria Spa, are dispensed at the pump-room in the same building. Plymouth Regatta usually takes place in the Sound, in July, when thousands assemble on the Hoe to witness the exhibition. The races are held on Chelson Meadow, containing 175 acres, recovered from the sea by an embankment 2910 feet in length; which improvement was executed by order of the late Earl of Morley, who received, in consequence, a gold medal from the Society of Arts. To this nobleman the inhabitants are also indebted for a magnificent iron bridge over the river Lary, constructed by Mr. Rendel, engineer, and opened to the public on the 16th of July, 1827; it consists of five elliptical arches of cast-iron, the central arch being 100 feet in span. Near it is Saltram, the residence of the present earl.

A considerable trade in timber is carried on with North America, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, &c.; and a direct intercourse has been established with the West Indies, which is highly advantageous, as the imports, coming immediately from the colonies, escape the agencies, duties, and port charges of London and Bristol. The coasting-trade is chiefly with London, Newcastle, Newport (in Monmouthshire), and Bristol. Great quantities of manganese are shipped to Scotland, wool to Hull, and lead to Bristol and the metropolis. In the foreign trade are employed, besides numerous chartered vessels, twenty-nine sail belonging to the port, varying from 60 to 500 tons' burthen; the total number of vessels of above fifty tons registered at the port is 183, and their aggregate burthen 21,281 tons. In a recent year there entered 316 British ships of the aggregate burthen of 35,285 tons, and 59 foreign vessels of 10,074 tons' aggregate burthen. The fishery is accounted excellent, and whiting and hake more particularly abound: several trolling and hooking boats employed in the fishery belong to Sutton-Pool, which is held on lease under the duchy of Cornwall. The piers through which Sutton Pool is entered, were erected by means of parliamentary grants, in 1791 and 1799; the quays surrounding it are numerous and convenient, and there are several yards for building and repairing merchant-ships. Catwater harbour, into which the river Plym falls, is capable of receiving 1000 sail of large merchant-vessels. Mr. Gill, a merchant, and late M.P. for the borough, recently obtained an act of parliament to construct a pier at Mill bay, a central point in the port of Plymouth; it is capable of affording accommodation to the largest steamers and other vessels at all times of the tide. In 1846 an act was procured for making docks at Mill bay, to be called the Plymouth and Great Western Docks. An act was passed in 1844 for a railway to Exeter, fiftytwo miles in length; and in 1846 an act for a railway to Falmouth, in length 63½ miles. The Custom-House is a substantial structure, with a granite front, and welldesigned long-room. The Exchange has no pretensions to elegance, though fully serving its intended purpose; it includes a Chamber of Commerce, Marine Insurance Office, Steam-Packet Office, &c.

The neighbourhood abounds with granite and slate, and the traffic in these articles is greatly facilitated by a railroad, worked by horses, the projection of which is mainly attributable to Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt. It was commenced in 1819, and reaches from Prince Rock and Sutton Pool, in Plymouth, to Batchelor's Hall, near the prisons on Dartmoor, with a branch to the limeworks at Catdown: altogether, its length, by a very circuitous course, is about thirty miles. The Plymouth marble is justly esteemed, on account of its veining and susceptibility of polish. The quarries are very extensive; those at Catdown, Prince Rock, and Oreston near Lary bridge, from which last the material for the breakwater was obtained, are the principal. The Oreston, West Hoe, and Pomphlet quarries, belonging to the Earl of Morley, were opened in the year 1812, and in the progress of the work a cavity was discovered in the marble rock, about twenty-five feet long and twelve feet square, in which were found, imbedded in clay, numerous bones of the rhinoceros, hyena, deer, ox, horse, &c., containing less animal matter in them than any fossil bones hitherto discovered, and usually perfect. All this range is full of organic remains of the coralline period, comprising a great variety of testacea and other marine animals. Several other caves have been opened near the quarries under the Hoe, one containing a vast reservoir of fresh water; but no organic remains appear to have been found. Plymouth is now a stannary town, and within a radius of ten miles are several mines, more or less productive. The market-days are Monday, Thursday, and Saturday; the market-place, an area of three acres, is inclosed with a wall, in which are three principal entrances. The fairs held in April and November, are not fixed to any particular day, but are regulated by those of Plympton; the latter fair, which is called the great market, is well attended.

The government, by successive charters, was vested in a mayor, twelve aldermen, and twenty-four commoncouncilmen, assisted by a recorder, town-clerk, chamber lain, coroner, serjeants-at-mace, and subordinate officers. The corporation now consists of a mayor, twelve aldermen, and thirty-six councillors, under the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76. The borough is divided into six wards; the mayor, late mayor, and recorder, are justices of the peace, with eleven others appointed by commission. The town exercised the elective franchise in the 26th and 33rd of Edward I., and in the 4th and 7th of Edward II., from which time it omitted till the 20th of Henry IV.; it has since regularly returned two members to parliament; by the act 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the privilege of voting was extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district, comprising an area of 1393 acres. Courts of quarter-session are held in the borough, under a grant from the crown, the recorder being the sole judge: the recorder also presides in a court of record, which sits as occasion requires; the periods of pleading recur weekly. The justices hold petty-sessions every Monday and Thursday, and a magistrate sits daily for the despatch of police business. The powers of the county debt-court of Plymouth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Plymouth, Plympton St. Mary, East Stonehouse, Stoke-Damerall, and St. Germans. The guildhall is an irregular structure, in a mixed style, comprising a hall, jury and committee rooms, the central watch-house, and the town prison.

The town is included within the parishes of St. Andrew and Charles; the former containing 23,831, and the latter 13,227, inhabitants. The living of St. Andrew's is a vicarage, with the chapelry of Pennycross, valued in the king's books at £12. 15. 5.; net income, £920; patron, the Rev. E. Hollond; impropriators, the representatives of E. P. Bastard, Esq. The church, a spacious and handsome structure in the later English style, has been repaired and improved, at an expense of nearly £6000; it has a lofty embattled tower, erected in the year 1440, and the interior is finely arranged, and coloured in imitation of granite. The living of the parish of Charles is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 15. 5.; net income, £612; patron, Sir C. Bisshopp, Bart. The church, begun a little before, and completed soon after, the parliamentary war, is a neat edifice in the later English style, with a tower surmounted by a well-proportioned spire. St. Andrew's and Charles' chapels are neat edifices; the former, built at the expense of the Rev. Robert Lampen, and Messrs. Woollcombe, Gill, and Pridham, was consecrated in 1823, and the latter in 1829. The livings of both are perpetual curacies: net income of the former, £148; patron, the Vicar of St. Andrew's: net income of the latter, £100; patrons, Trustees. Trinity church, in the early English style, of which the foundation stone was laid in May, 1840, was completed in August 1842, at a cost of nearly £6000, of which the Church Commissioners granted £1000, the Diocesan Society £500, and the Incorporated Society £500; of 1082 sittings, 636 are free: patron, the Vicar of St. Andrew's. A church district named Sutton-on-Plym was formed out of Charles parish, in 1844, and endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Exeter, alternately. Christ Church, in St. Andrew's parish, was built in 1845, and is in the later English style: being placed between houses, it is lighted by a clerestory, and by windows at the east and west ends, only; it contains 1120 sittings, and cost £3475. Church districts named respectively St. James' and St. Peter's, were formed in 1847 by the Ecclesiastical Commission, the former out of St. Andrew's parish, and the latter out of the parishes of St. Andrew and East Stonehouse: the living of each is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Exeter, alternately. Eldad chapel, a handsome edifice in the later English style, opened in 1830, was purchased by the Rev. E. Godfrey, incumbent of St. Peter's, and a few friends, for the purpose of being consecrated as the church of St. Peter's district; the sum paid was about £3050. There are places of worship in the town for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, and Unitarians; and a synagogue.

The grammar school, a substantial stone building with a residence for the master, was founded in 1572, by Queen Elizabeth, who granted to the corporation the arrears of a rent-charge upon the vicarage, on condition that they should find a lecturer, and pay £20 a year to a schoolmaster. The Red-boys' school was established in pursuance of the will of Elizeus Hele, of Wembury, dated 1632. The Blue school was founded by means of a bequest by Mr. J. Lanyon; the Grey school was instituted in 1713. In Princess-square is a classical and mathematical proprietary school, a neat building of the Doric order; and a diocesan commercial school has been formed. Among the numerous other schools is an asylum for orphan girls, for which a handsome structure in the Italian Palazzo style was commenced in 1841, aided by subscription, to which the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe munificently contributed; it is also much indebted to the exertions of the Rev. John Hatchard and Mr. Prance. The Merchantmen's hospital is for the relief of maimed or disabled seamen, and for the widows and orphans of such as are killed or drowned in the merchants' service. St. Andrew's almshouses are for the reception of twelve widows: behind these are others belonging to the workhouse. Charles' almshouses, built in 1679, are capable of containing forty persons, who receive a weekly allowance from the parish. In 1703, Col. Jory erected a building for twelve sailors' widows, each of whom now has a monthly allowance of twenty-five shillings. The public dispensary was erected in 1807, in consequence of a bequest of £1000, by C. Yonge, Esq. The Devon and Cornwall hospital, lately erected by subscription, is an institution of great value. Here is also an eye infirmary, supported by voluntary contributions. The workhouse was established by act of parliament in 1708, and is under the management of a body corporate, entitled "the Governor and Guardians of the poor's portion in Plymouth."

This is the birthplace of Sir Thomas Edmondes, a distinguished statesman and political writer, born in 1563; of the gallant admiral, Sir John Hawkins, who died in 1590; of Jacob Bryant, a learned antiquary, who was born in 1715, and died in 1804; of James Northcote and C. Lock Eastlake, royal academicians; of Samuel Prout, an eminent painter in water colours; and of B. Haydon, the historical painter. Ambrose Johns, the landscape painter; John Huxham, the celebrated physician; and Henry Bone, the eminent enamel painter, resided here for some time. Plymouth gives the title of Earl to the family of Windsor.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.