Plymouth lies on the south-west coast of England, in the county of Devon, approximately 380 kilometres by road from London, and is known as the ‘gateway to Devon and Cornwall’. The city overlooks the Plymouth Sound and the English Channel, and is the largest city in the ‘West Country’, with a population of approximately 250,000. Plymouth is home to one of Europe’s largest natural harbours which has been, and still is a major naval base and currently the largest in western Europe. A waterfront city, Plymouth has impacted on the world through the actions of people such as Darwin, Cook, Drake and the Pilgrim Fathers, who set sail from this protected harbour and made major history.
Plymouth has been a noted seaport since the 13th century and lies mainly between the mouths of the Rivers Tamar & Plym before they flow into the Plymouth Sound. Probably it is best known for its Hoe, a beautifully landscaped area facing the Sound, and where the famous game of bowls was played by Sir Francis Drake before he set out to destroy the Spanish Armada in 1588.
The story that he refused to fight the Spaniards until he had finished the game is almost certainly true, but that may have had a lot to do with the state of the wind and the tide. The city was targeted by the Luftwaffe during World War II, due to the importance of the city’s naval base, with the centre of the city being almost completely destroyed by bombing. The area around Sutton Pool, known as the Barbican is virtually all that is left of old Plymouth and its historic past. It has been well preserved, and re-constructed, and presents an interesting spectacle of the various styles in the city since the 14th century when it was then the fishing village of Sutton.
The Black Friar’s Monastery, which can be found in Southside Street, is today famous for being the distillery of ‘Plymouth Gin’!! Now much altered, the original building dates from the 15th century, and the distillery still features the monk’s refectory which has been beautifully restored and is now used as a tasting room. Tours of the distillery take place each day. Just for interest the gin is available in two strengths, with the stronger ‘Navy Strength’ being 57% proof, the reason being at 57% and higher the alcohol doesn’t affect the explosive capabilities of gunpowder – very useful in the old days of cannon!!
The Elizabethan House in New Street, the oldest street in Plymouth, is a typical timber-framed merchant’s house of the 16th century, complete with overhanging upper story, and is furnished in the same period. The Merchant’s House in St Andrew’s Street dates from 1601 and is Plymouth’s finest example of the period with a facade made up almost entirely of windows. It contains a museum based on the children’s nursery rhyme “Tinker, tailor”, and also has an interesting exhibition of the siege of Plymouth during the English Civil War. The oldest dwelling in the city, at 500 years, is Prysten House, and although quite small its rough stone and little courtyard gives it a lot of character. It was for many years a chapel and now houses the 8 metres long ‘Plymouth Tapestry’ based on the 16th century City Corporation document. The Mayflower is said to have left from Sutton Quay on it s epic journey to the New World in 1620. The departure point, called the Mayflower Steps, is marked by a simple arch which flies the flag of Britain and America.
Nearby is Island House where, it is said, the Pilgrim Fathers stayed the night before their departure. The most notable historic building still remaining must be the Royal Citadel at the eastern end of the Hoe. It was built by King Charles II in 1670 in what was then the state of the art technology of fortress architecture. More up to date is Tinside Lido, a 1930s art deco, open-air swimming pool which looks over the Sound. It was restored in 2003.
Other sites, in the city, worthy of mention:
Plymouth Dome, a purpose built museum, showing Plymouth’s history through the ages, complete with sights, sounds and smells! It covers the Spanish Armada, the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers, James Cook’s voyages in the 18th century and much more
Smeatons’ Tower, once the top section of the Eddystone Lighthouse, which until 1882 stood on the treacherous granite reef of the Eddystone Rocks, south of Plymouth, has now been re-erected on the Hoe and provides one of the best viewpoints of the town.
St Andrew’s Church, largely destroyed by bombing in the Second World War and consequently much restored, has modern stained glass windows in vivid red, green, blue and purple and a splendid new floor of Delabole slate.
The Phoenix Wharf, the embarkation point for cruises up the Tamar River or trips around the naval dockyard.
Other places of interest within 30 kilometres:
Princetown, the bleakest, largest town on Dartmoor and home to the famous Dartmoor Prison, a good centre for exploring the prehistoric remains of the moors.
Buckland Abbey, with its associations with the Elizabethan seafarers Sir Francis Drake and Sir Richard Grenville, a 700 year old building with a 16th century great hall. It was originally a small Cistercian monastery.
Cotehele, a medieval house owned by the National Trust, with collections of armour, textiles and furniture.
Dartmeet, the most famous beauty spot on Dartmoor, where East Dart and West Dart rivers meet. A ‘clapper’ bridge, a rough-stone bridge typical of the West Country, crosses the East Dart upstream from the modern bridge.
Did you know that – when the Royal Citadel was built, the guns were pointed over the city as well as out to sea as King Charles II was ever mindful that Plymouth had supported Cornwall in the Civil War against his father?
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