PLYMOUTH 



PLYMOUTH BRETHREN 251 



dangerous ; while if vessels anchored in the Sound 

 itself they were open to the full fury of the south- 

 westers. Hence Earl St Vincent pressed forward 

 a scheme for the provision of artificial protection, 

 and in 1812 the construction of the Plymouth Break- 

 water was begun, from plans prepared by Messrs 

 Rennie and Whidby. This great national work is 

 an insulated mole of stones, a mile in length, 

 stretching across the middle of the Sound, 2 

 miles from the Hoe, and thoroughly protecting the 

 inner anchorage. It was not completed until 1841, 

 and cost 1,500,000 (see BREAKWATER). About 

 half a mile from the Hoe is a little islet, origin- 

 ally called St Nicholas Island, but now more 

 commonly Drake's Island. This is strongly forti- 

 fied. A formidable stone fort has also been 

 built on an artificial island immediately within 

 the breakwater ; while on either shore there are 

 extensive forts and batteries at Bovisand and 

 Stamford on the east, and at Picklecombe, Maker, 

 and Tregantle on the west. The estuary of 

 the Plym is called the Cattewater, and is a 

 capacious and important inner mercantile anchor- 

 age, opening from the Sound eastward, and pro- 

 tected oy the Batten breakwater. The estuary of 

 the Tamar is called the Hamoaze, and from the 

 spot at which it enters the Sound between Devil's 

 Point and Mount Edgecnmbe to Saltash is nearly 

 4 miles in length a still more valuable and 

 thoroughly protected anchorage for vessels of the 

 largest size, and occupied by men-of-war. In the 

 Channel, 14 miles off the Sound, is the dangerous 

 Eddystone Reef (q.v.), indicated since 1700 by 

 lighthouses, and now rather a directing post to 

 the port than a danger. Plymouth Sound is 

 exceedingly beautiful, and has even been con- 

 sidered worthy of rivalship with the Bay of Naples. 

 On its western shore is Mount Edgcumbe, the 

 delightful seat of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, 

 traditionally said to have been selected by Medina 

 Sidonia as his share of the English spoil, liame 

 Head, crowned by the ruins of a mediieval chapel, 

 is one of the most picturesque headlands on the 

 coast ; and the estuary of the Yealm, with the 

 peaked Mewstone at its mouth, is full of romantic 

 beauty. 



See R. N. Worth's Hittory of Plymouth ( 1871 ; new 

 ed. 1891), and The Three Taum Bibliotheea 1 1873 ) ; L. 

 Jewitt's History of Plymouth (1873); and four works 

 by J. B. Rowe (1873-76). 



Plymouth, (1) capital of Plymouth county, 

 Massachusetts, on Plymouth Bay, 37 miles by rail 

 BE. of Boston, is famous as the landing-place of 

 the Pilgrim Fathers (q.v.). Plymouth Rock is a 

 granite ooulder at the water's edge on which they 

 landed. It is covered by a handsome granite 

 canopy, and there is also a national monument 

 (1858-89) to the pilgrims; the pedestal, also of 

 granite, stands on a Trill overlooking the landing- 

 place, and is 46 feet high, surmounted by a central 

 figure of Faith, 36 feet high, with four immense 

 stone figures representing Morality, Education, 

 Freedom, and Law around the base. In Pilgrim 

 Hall ( 1824-25) are preserved many relics of the first 

 settlement of the country. The town has an iron- 

 foundry and zinc-rolling mills, and manufactures 

 cotton and duck, cordage, nails, tacks, and rivets. 

 It is popular as a summer-resort, and contains a 

 number of hotels. Pop. (1890) 7314; (1900) 9592. 

 (2) A borough of Pennsylvania, on the Susque- 

 hanna River, 20 miles by rail SW. of Scranton, in 

 a coal-milling region. Pop. (1900) 13,649, mostly 

 foreigners. (3) The capital of Montserrat (q.v.). 



Plymouth Brethren, a name given by 



(itlii-iM to a body of Christians which since 1830 lias 

 extended itself' throughout the British dominions 

 and in some parts of the continent of Euro|>e, parti- 



cularly among the Protestants of France, Switzer- 

 land, and Italy, and also in the United States of 

 America. It originated in a reaction against exclu- 

 sive High Church principles, as maintained in the 

 Church of England, with everything of a kindred 

 nature in other churches, and against a dead for- 

 malism associated with ' unevangelical ' doctrine. 

 Some of the first members of the new religious 

 communities formed in Plymouth and elsewhere 

 were retired Anglo-Indian officers, men of unques- 

 tionable zeal and piety ; but these communities 

 began to appear almost simultaneously in a number 

 of places. Their origin is, however, very much to 

 be ascribed to the labours and influence of John 

 Nelson Darby (1800-82), from whom the Plymouth 

 Brethren on the continent of Europe are very gener- 

 ally known as Darbyites. Darby was a barrister, 

 who under deeply religious impressions became a 

 clergyman of the Church of England, and served as 

 a curate in Wicklow ; but in 1827 he left the Church 

 of England from conscientious scruples, and became 

 an evangelist unconnected with any church. In 

 this character he laboured both in England and on 

 the continent of Europe, preaching in French, 

 English, and German. It was in 1830 that he 

 founded at Plymouth the congregation whence 

 comes the name usually given to the communion ; 

 the Dublin assembly dates from the same year. 

 He also gave utterance to his opinions in numerous 

 pamphlets, in a quarterly periodical, and a long 

 series of theological works.. His tenets, and those 

 of the Brethren in general, are strictly Calvinistic : 

 original sin and predestination, the efficacy of 

 Christ's sacrifice, the merit of His obedience, the 

 power of His intercession, the gracious operations 

 of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and sanctifica- 

 tion are prominent points. Pre-Millenarian views 

 are generally entertained by the Brethren ; and 

 they usually practise the baptism of believers with- 

 out regard to previous infant baptism. Recently 

 among a section household baptism has been prac- 

 tised. They partake of the Lord's Supper every 

 Sunday, or 'first day of the week.' They utterly 

 reject the rite of confirmation. Their most dis- 

 tinctive peculiarity, when contrasted with other 

 Calvinistic churches, is their complete rejection 

 of ecclesiastical organisation. They suppose the 

 whole Christian body in the world to have declined 

 from truth and duty, like Israel of old, and there- 

 fore to have been 'corporately rejected of God,' 

 and believe that the church consists of all true 

 believers in the Lord Jesus to whatever denomina- 

 tion they may belong holding uniformly that no 

 unbeliever or unregenerate person ought to be 

 recognised as in the church of God. They refuse 

 to recognise any humanly devised form of church 

 government, or any official or salaried ministry ; 

 they insist on the privilege and responsibility of 

 every individual to minister according to his gift 

 and ability, in order to the edification of the 

 whole. Practically the number of those fitted 

 publicly to teach or minister the Word of God is 

 very limited, and those who are not fitted for such 

 ministry are not encouraged and sometimes re- 

 strained. 



They distinguish widely between pastors, teachers, 

 and exhorters, whose ministry is to the church, and 

 evangelists, whose ministry of the gospel is toward 

 the world. Whilst disowning human qualifications 

 and ordination as generally practised, and condemn- 

 ing wholly as unscriptural tlie distinction of 'clergy 

 and laity,' they hold that it is right to own such 

 evangelists, pastors, and teachers as Christ the 

 Head of the Church has bestowed and the Holy 

 Spirit has qualified. Such as devote themselves 

 wnolly to the work of the gospel are supported \>y 

 voluntary and unsolicited contributions. In their 

 assemblies there are frequent pauses, and liberty 



