144 



PLYMOUTH BREAKWATER. 



Navigators had long complained that this, the second port in the 

 kingdom, possessing, as it does, capacious anchorage, numerous inlets, 

 and the advantages of the large river Tamar, which flows to the very 

 walls of the dock-yard, was still exposed to gales from S. W. to S. E. ; 

 which, blowing directly into the harbour, produced a heavy sea, 

 and at such seasons the shipping often suffered serious damage for want 

 of proper shelter. 



But it was not until 1806 that the Government, at the suggestion of 

 the late Earl of St. Vincent, directed a Survey to be made by Mr. 

 Whidbey, in conjunction with Mr. Rennie, who reported the practicability 

 of making the anchorage safe by means of a Breakwater. The plan 

 adopted was, to form an impenetrable barrier of large stones, in the middle 

 of Plymouth Sound, extending from east to west, 1,700 yards, and 

 leaving an entrance on each side sufficiently capacious to allow the 

 largest man-of-war an easy passage in and out of the harbour. The 

 centre of the breakwater was to be 1000 yards in a straight line, continued 

 350 yards more at either end, at an angle of 120, by which form it was 

 expected the force of the waves would be more effectually resisted ; the 

 breadth of the base was fixed at 210 feet, at the top 30 feet, and the 

 depth from the upper surface to the bed of the sea 40 feet. 



It was computed that .2,500,000 tons of stone would be required to 

 construct the whole work, and the entire cost was calculated at 

 1,171,000 sterling. To facilitate the undertaking, a quarry of grey 

 marble, of about 25 acres in extent, was purchased of the Duke of 

 Bedford, for 10,000. This lying contiguous to Catwater, which is at 

 the head of the harbour, presented a secure spot to embark the stones. 



Twelve vessels of a suitable construction were built in the dock-yard, 

 and forty others were hired to convey the stones to their appointed 

 station. Several hundred artificers and labourers of all descriptions 

 were engaged for the whole service. The first stone was deposited on 

 the 12th August, 1812. 



The vessels were laden and discharged by means of the following 

 contrivance : small iron trucks, each capable of carrying a stone of 

 from two to six tons weight, were conducted along an iron railway 

 leading from the quarry, through the stern port into the vessel's holt>. 

 Each vessel carried 16 of these trucks. The place where they were to 



