PLYMOUTH. 



PLYMOUTH. 



ISO 



ujh, which include* also the parish of 



, wa* 60,159. Devonport and StoarhooM an con- 

 tiMMM to and usually regarded a* forming one town with Plymouth. 

 Plymouth U governed by 12 aldermen and 3 councillor*, of whom 

 on* i* mayor; and return* two membrr* to the Imperial Parliament 

 The borough of Devonport also return* two member* to Parliament. 

 Taw livings are in the archdcoary of Toto** and diooea* of Kxeter. 

 For Poor-Law purpoMW, the two parkhe* of which the borough of 

 Plymouth i* computed, are governed under the provision* of a local 

 act. Stoke D**Mrel U likwi*e under a local act, and Eat Stonebouse 

 pariah i* gms*d by a board of guardian*. 



Plymouth wa* originally inhabited by fishermen. By the Saxon* 

 it wa* called Tanwonrorth : after the ("onqurrt it was called Sutton 

 (that ia, South-Town) ; in the reign of Henry VL it received the name 

 of Plymouth. In the reign of Henry IV. the town wa* attacked and 

 partly burnt, but the oa*tle and the highest part of the town were not 

 taken. In 143*. in the reign of Henry VI., Plymouth was incor- 

 porated by charter. The town was then walled in. In the civil war 

 of Chart** I. the town, which had embraced the parliamentary side, 

 wa* besieged by the RoyaluU under Prince Maurice, and was soon 

 alter attacked by the king in hi* inarch into Cornwall, and subse- 

 quently blockaded by Sir Richard Grenvillt, but in each case without 



The town of Plymouth i* on the north side of Plymouth Sound, 

 between the two great arms of that harbour, Catwater on the east, 

 an<l Hamouee on the west The small inlet of Sutton Pool is close 

 to the town on the east side, and Mill Bay, another inlet, not far from 

 it on the west The older streets are narrow and ill-built, and some 

 of them steep. The town is well lighted with gas; the supply of 

 water is under the direction of the corporation, and is still furnished 

 by Sir P. Drake's channel, or ' leat,' from Dartmoor, which has a course 

 of about 30 miles. The water i received in three large reservoirs, 

 and dittributfd by iron-pipes. 



St. Andrew's church is a spacious structure of ancient foundation, 

 with a square embattled tower. Charles church was begun just before 

 the civil war of Charles I., but was not completed until after the 

 Restoration, when it was dedicated to King Charles the Martyr. It 

 i* a neat building, with a square tower and well-proportioned spire. 

 There are two chapels of ease, besides six other Episcopal places of 

 worship ; chapels for Baptists, Independents, Presbyterians, Unitarians, 

 Quaker*, Wesleyan Methodists, and other Dissenters, and a Jews' syna- 

 gogue numbering in all 38 places of worship, containing 23,805 sittings. 

 The Grammar school, founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1572, had 60 

 scholars in 1851. The New Grammar school, founded in 1822, had 

 70 scholars in 1854. The Western College, instituted in 1752, for the 

 education* Of young men for the ministery amongst Protestant Dis- 

 senters, is in connection with the University of London. It had 

 SI students in 1854. There are National and British schools, Charity 

 schools, a savings bank, and various benevolent institutions. The 

 Royal hotel, with an assembly-room and a theatre adjacent to it, 

 erected in 1811 by the corporation at a heavy expense, form a very 

 extensive range of building. The custom-house, the royal baths, the 

 new hospital, the athenaeum or building of the Plymouth Institution, 

 the public library, the freemasons' hall, the Natural History Society's 

 hall, and the mechanics institute, are worthy of notice. The guild- 

 hall is an irregular structure, comprehended in which are, besides the 

 town-hall, the central watch-house, and the town prison. 



The harbour of Plymouth comprehends the Sound and its various 

 arms. About 14 miles south stands the EDDTSTOSE LIGHTHOUSE, 

 built in 1759, on a reef of rocks stretching north and south 100 

 fathoms. The Sound is a considerable inlet of the English Channel, 

 3 mile* wide at the entrance from Penlee Point on the west to the 

 opposite headland on the east, and extending inland about 3 miles to 

 the citadel and town of Plymouth. On the western side of the Sound 

 i* Cawsand Bay. The coast is generally rocky and abrupt, and the 

 rocky bland of St Nicholas (sometimes called Drake's Island) rises 

 out of the water not far from the north shore. The sestuary of the 

 Tamer forma the harbour for the ships of war, and is called Hamoaze ; 

 it opens into the north-west corner of the Sound. The icstuary of 

 the Plym, or Lara, forms another harbour, chiefly used for merchant 

 veaieli, and in time of war for transports, captured vessels, &c. : it is 

 called Catwater, and is capable of containing 1000 sail of such vessels. 

 Hero is also an extensive wet- and dry-dock. Catwater opens into the 

 north-east corner of the Sound, and has at its month the rocky pro- 

 montory of Mount Batten, opposite Plymouth. It is not so deep as 

 Hamoan-. Sutton Pool is a tide-harbour, also used by merchant 

 Twael*; and a pier in Mill Bay accommodates the largest class of 

 iteam-*hips at all times of the tide. Extensive docks for vessels of 

 large tonnage are being constructed at Mill Bay harbour. The 

 harbour of Hamoaze is 4 miles long, and has a depth of water 

 of 15 fathoms at ebb-tide ; there are moorings for nearly 100 sail of 

 the line. The dockyard i* on Hamoaze. The harbour was long 

 expoted to the heavy sea which rolled into the Sound with gales 

 from the southward, and great damage was at various times done. 

 To remedy this a breakwater, or dyke, formed of loose stones, was 

 commenced in 1812. It runs across the middle of the Sound, having 

 a total length of 1700 yards, namely, 1000 yards in the centre, which 

 runs in a direction nearly from east to west, with a continuation of 



350 yard* at each and, turning more to the north, and forming a con- 

 siderable angle with the direction of the centre. A lighthouse has 

 been erected at the western end. The total coat of this noble work 

 ha* been about 1,700,0001 Its efficiency as a protection to the harbour 

 has been proved in many severe gales. The harbour and town are 

 defended by the citadel of Plymouth, by the fortifications on the 

 Island of St. Nicholas, and by other works, of which some important 

 part* are now in process of construction. 



The number and tonnage of vessels registered as belonging to the 

 port of Plymouth on December 31st 1853 were : Sailing-vends 

 under 50 tons 250, tonnage 7394 ; above 50 tons 200, tonnage 36,759 : 

 steam-vessels 6, tonnage 371. During 1853 there entered the port in 

 the coasting-trade, Railing-vessels 3197, tonnage 264,739 ; steam-veaaels 

 466, tonnage 185,497 : and there cleared!348 sailing-vessels of 1< 

 tons, and 455 steam-vessels of 156,121 tons aggregate burden. In the 

 colonial trade there entered 218 sailing-vessels of 23,604 tons, and 

 33 steam-vessels of 3069 tons ; and there cleared 260 sailing-vessels of 

 25,362 tons, and 22 steam-vessels of 2046 tons. In the foreign trade 

 there entered 248 British vessels of 17,345 tons, and 216 f 

 vessels of 26,058 tons; and there cleared 150 British vessels of 

 10,569 tons, and 149 foreign vessels of 19,704 tons. 



The trade of Plymouth is important. Considerable commerce is 

 carried on with the West Indies, the Baltic, and the Mediterranean, and 

 coastwise with London and other ports ; and there is an active fishrry, 

 especially of whiting and hake. The imports are timber and West 

 India produce; the exports, manganese to Scotland, wool to Hull. 

 and lead to London and Bristol. There are an extensive sail-cloth 

 manufactory, a sugar refinery, a glass-house, a very large soap factory, 

 distilleries, and a starch factory. Granite, slate, limestone, and marble, 

 are quarried in the neighbourhood. The limestone or marble of the 

 Oreston quarries, on the shore of Catwater, opposite to Plymouth, 

 was the material chiefly employed for the breakwater. Near these 

 quarries is an iron bridge of five elliptical arches over Catwater, built 

 at the expense of the Earl of Morley. A floating steam-bridge crosses 

 the Hamoaze between Devouport and Torpoint at short intervals 

 throughout the day, and conveys the mail-coaches, carriages, horses, 

 and passengers. A railway from Sutton Pool, 24 miles long, connects 

 Plymouth with Prince Town, on Dartmoor. There are markets on 

 Monday, Thursday, and Saturday ; and fairs in April and November. 

 A county court is held in Plymouth. Races arc annually held in a. 

 meadow near the town, and a regatta in the Sound. There are au 

 hospital for merchant seamen, a public dispensary, an eye infirmary, 

 and several other charities. 



Devonport contains the government dockyards, and is familiarly 

 called ' The Dock,' its name having been, till 1824, Plymouth Dock. 

 It is now the most important of the maritime ports in Devon- 

 shire. The military and naval officers reside at Devouport. The 

 town owes its importance to a naval arsenal established here in 

 the reign of William III. It was first fortified in the reign of 

 George II., but the fortifications have since been considerably 

 enlarged and improved. 



Devonport is bounded on the south and west by the mouth of the 

 Tamer, and on the east by Stonehouse Creek. The streets are wide 

 and regular, well paved, and lighted with gas ; the footpaths are made 

 of marble obtained in the neighbourhood. The Fore-street is approached 

 from the east through a handsome gateway, with a fosse and a draw- 

 bridge, and forms a thoroughfare to the dockyard. A wall 12 feet in 

 height, called 'the king's interior boundary wall,' defends the town on 

 the north-east and south sides ; and the heavy batteries on Mount Wise 

 protect the entrance from the sea. Without the wall ia a line,or breast- 

 work, with a fosse excavated in the solid rock from 12 to 20 feet deep. 

 There are three gates in the line, the North-gate, the State-barrier, 

 and the Stouehouse-gato. A chapel erected by government is in the 

 dockyard. There are two chapels of ease at Devonport St. Aubyn's, 

 erected in 1771, and St. John's, erected in 1799. The inhabitants 

 have access also to the dockyard chapel. There are places of worship 

 for Baptists, Independents. Wesleyan Methodists, and Moravians. A 

 classical school was established by subscription in 1821, and a public 

 school for boys in 1808. There is a school for girls, where about 

 100 are educated and clothed. The Baptists and Methodists have 

 each their respective schools. A public dispensary for this town and 

 East Stonehouse was erected in 1815. There is a savings bank in the 

 town, also one connected with the dockyard, and one entitled the 

 Royal Naval Annuitant and Naval Savings Bank. The markets on 

 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are well supplied with provisions 

 of all kinds. There are in Devonport a small theatre, a subscription 

 library, and a spacious and elegant assembly-room at the Royal hotel, 

 where balls are held. Water is brought from Dartmoor in a circuitous 

 line of about 30 miles, to a reservoir on the north side of the town, 

 whence it is conveyed in pipes to the different houses. The town-hall 

 is a spacious and handsome building, with a Doric portico. It contains 

 a county meeting-room, 75 feet by 40 feet, a watch-house, temporary 

 prison, &c. Near it is a fluted column of the Doric order, to com- 

 memorate the naming of the town in 1824. From the top of the 

 column a splendid view of the harbour is obtained. The post-office, 

 the mechanics institute, and the public library are fine buildings. 

 To the south of the town are the houses of the port-admiral and the 

 governor, the telegraph establishment, and the Grand Parade, 



