PLYMOUTH. 
pidVure of the royal recorder decorates the town-hall, and 
is placed over the mayor’s feat. His majefty alfo, while 
prince regent, as high fteward of the borough, prefented 
to the corporation, in 1819, a choice collection of the 
Elgin Marbles, as a decoration for the Athenaeum, and 
are placed in the recedes of that building. The prefent 
members for Plymouth are—Sir William Congreve, bart. 
equerry to the king, &c. &c. and Sir Thomas Byam 
Martin, an admiral, and comptroller of the navy. 
The town is governed by its own magiftrates, who are 
a mayor, juftice, and the two fenior members of the bench 
of aldermen. In addition to the mayor and juftice, the 
corporation conlifts of a recorder, twelve aldermen, 
twenty-four common-counci! men, a town-clerk, and a 
coroner. A general feftions of the peace is holden here 
four times in the year, where all offences which extend 
to tranfportation for feven years are tried, and thofe of 
minor importance are determined by the mayor at his 
weekly fitting in Guildhall. 
Befides the importation of coals, culm, corn, wine, 
timber, and articles for town-confumption, Plymouth 
carries on a confiderable trade; and in the time of war a 
vaft bufinefs arifes from the fale of prizes and their car¬ 
goes, which attract purchafers from all quarters. 
The population of Plymouth is ftated, in the year 
1377, at only 7000 perfons. Cofmo III. grand duke of 
Tuftcany, who travelled through - England in 1669, fays 
of Plymouth, “ In the laft century it was a poor village, 
inhabited by fifhermen : it is now fo increafed in build¬ 
ings and population, that it may be reckoned among the 
beft cities of England, having between 12 anil 15,000 
inhabitants.” The number has fucceffively increaled as 
follows : in 1801, to 43,454; in 1811, to 56,060; and in 
1821, to 61,212. 
The brave admiral fir John Hawkins, who commanded 
the rear of the fleet which defeated the Spanifh armada, 
was a native of this town ; and it was long the refidence 
of the celebrated fir Francis Drake, who was a member 
of the corporation, reprefentative to parliament, and the 
author of many valuable improvements in Plymouth and 
its vicinity. In the eaft part of the town are the remains 
of the priory of White Friars, granted in the 38th year of 
Henry VIII. to Giles Ifelham. The principal gateway, 
or entrance, is in a very dilapidated ftate ; but the ruins 
of the priory itfelfare almoft extinCt, and their fcite occu¬ 
pied by a fmith’s Ihop. The hofpital of the Grey Friars 
is ftill remaining, and is now a private houfe. An ab¬ 
bey of Ciftertian Friars is ftill ftanding fouth of St. An¬ 
drew’s church, and is denominated the abbey wine-vaults, 
the vaults being occupied for that purpofe. A chalybeate 
fpring has lately been difcovered oozing through a rock 
near this place : the water is like that at Tunbridge Wells. 
Tiie harbour of Plymouth is diftinguilhed for its great 
extent and capacity, and the fecurity which it affords in 
its different parts. It is equally well adapted for mer- 
c.hant-veffels and for Ihips of war, and, by the recent im¬ 
provements, has nov/ acquired a fafe and commodious 
voadftead, fo effential an accommodation to every naval 
rendezvous. It is capable of containing about 2000 fail 
of (hipping, and is altogether one of the fineft harbours 
in the world. It confifts of feveral divifions or harbours, 
which have received different names. Sutton Pool is that 
which immediately adjoins the town, being almOft encir¬ 
cled by the buildings. The entrance is between two 
large piers, ereCted by parliamentary grants in 1791-1799. 
It is furrounded by public and private quays, and all (hips 
entering it pay certain dues : it is chiefly frequented by 
merchant-veflels. Its affairs are managed by a company, 
under whom it has received important improvements. 
Catwater-harbour is an extenfive ftieet of water formed 
by the eftuary of the Plym, and is capable of protecting 
from the fouth-weft gales, which are prevalent, upwards 
of 500 (hips. It is feldom entered by (hips of war. The 
harbour or bay of Hamoaze is a magnificent bafin at the 
mouth of the Tamar, about four miles long, and half a 
715 
mile wide; it is the harbour beft adapted for (hipsof war, 
and here accordingly, in time of peace, a very confider¬ 
able part of the Englifh navy is moored. It is fitted with 
moorings of large iron chains, for 100 fail of the line; 
has good anchorage for a much greater number, and in 
water that carries its depth to the very quays of the dock¬ 
yard. At the mouth of thefe harbours, the great bay of 
Plymouth Sound forms an excellent roadltead, which is 
now rendered fecure by the conftruCtion of the breakwater 
acrofs its entrance. 
This work, which has been going on for years, and is 
not yet finiflied, is the greateft of the kind ever under¬ 
taken in the kingdom. The expofed fituation of the 
Sound had been long and feverely felt as an extreme in¬ 
convenience in the harbour; and it was at laft determined 
to oppofe, if poflible, fome barrier to the heavy fwell 
which is here almoft continually rolling in from the 
Atlantic. The plan at laft adopted, with the advice of 
the mod experienced engineers, men of fcience, and naval 
officers, was to conftruct at St. Carlos rocks, about three 
miles fouth of Plymouth, a mole, or vaft heap of ltones, in 
the middle of the found, ftretching acrofs its entrance, 
occupying nearly the half of its width, and leaving a free 
paffage for veffels, both on the eaftern and weftern (bores. 
The whole expenfe was eftimated at 1,171,100k viz. 
1,051,200k for the mole or breakwater, and 119,900k for a 
pier along the top, with light-houfes. It was propofed 
that the breakwater fnould begin 360 feet on the eaftward 
of St. Carlos rocks, and extend 1800 feet weft of the 
Shovel rock; the whole length to be 1700 yards, or very 
nearly a mile, 4000 feet in the middle being quite ftraighr, 
and the two extremities having a (lope up the found. It 
was eftimated that 2,000,000 tons of (tone would be re¬ 
quired to finifti it; and it was advifed to heap them pro- 
mifcuoufly together in large blocks, not lefs than if or 2 
tons weight each, leaving them to find their own bale and 
pofition. Where the water was 30 feet deep, the dimen- 
(ions of the breakwater were to be 40 feet high, 30 feet 
acrofs the top, and 210 feet wide at the foundation. The 
work was begun in 1812; the firft (tone was funk on the 
12th of Auguft; and on the 31ft of March, 1813, the 
building began to make its appearance above the (urface 
of low water at fpring tides. The (tones were quarried 
from a rock of limeltone or grey marble, purchaled from 
the duke of Bedford for 10,000k and fituated on the 
eaftern (bore of Catwater. More than fifty veffels, of 
peculiar conftruCtion, were employed in carrying the 
(tones to the work ; and the quantity of Itone depofited, 
up to the end of the year 1816, was upwards of 1,000,000 
tons, 12,000 of which were five tons and upwards each. 
The part of the breakwater above the level of low-water 
fpring-tides, was then 1100 yards, of which 360 feet were 
completely finiflied to the height of three feet above the 
level of the higheft fpring-tides. On the whole, this great 
work has been conducted with great (kill and furprifirig 
difpatch, and the refult has fully anfwered the expeCta- 
tions of its projectors. At the end of the fecond year, 
the fwell was fo much broken, that (hips of all fizes ran 
in, and anchored with confidence behind the breakwater. 
Since that time 200 fail of veffels of every defcription have 
here found ftselter, and twenty-five or thirty fail of the 
line may now ride here at all times, in fecurity. 
In quarrying the limeftone-rock at Orefton in Catwater, 
to get (tone (or the ufe of the above important work, 
caverns were difcovered, containing the remains of 
animals, fimiiar to what we have defcribed under the 
article Pickering. In 1817, the diggers came to acavern 
in the folid face of the rock, 160 feet from the original 
face, at the edge of the Catwater, and 60 feet from the 
fuperincumbent foil. It was fifteen feet wide, twelve 
high, and forty-five long, filled, or nearly fo, with a body 
of folid clay in which were imbedded the teeth and 
bones of the rhinoceros only. In 1820 a (mailer cavern 
was difcovered of one foot high, eighteen feet wide, and 
twenty feet long, containing clay or mud, in which 
