PLY 
720 
connection they alfo became the proprietors of Stone- 
houfe. On the heights bordering the park of Mount- 
Edgecumbe Hands Maker-church, the tower of which is 
ufed as a medium for conveying fignals from the ad¬ 
mirals’ fliips in Hamoaze to fliips in the Sound, and alfo 
to forward the information of any fleets or vefiels of war 
in the offing, or paffing up or down Channel. Beauties of 
England, vol. iv. Wilkes’s Britijh Diredory, vol. iv. Old¬ 
field’s Reprcfentative Hijl. vol. iii. 
PLYM'OUTH, a town in the ifland of Tobago. Lat. 
i o. 10. N. Ion. 60. 3. W. 
PLYM'OUTH, a maritime county of the United States 
of America, in the eaft part of Maflachufetts, bounded 
north by Norfolk county, eaft by the Atlantic, fouth by 
Barnftable county and Buzzard’s bay, and welt byBriftol 
county. It has confiderable manufactures. Population 
35 > i 6 9 - 
PLYM'OUTH, a feaport town and capital of the above 
county. It contains a court-houfe, a gaol, a bank, and 
four churches. Vefiels drawing more than ten or eleven 
feet of water muft unload in part at a dittance from the 
wharfs. The compaCt part of the town is pleafantly 
iituated, and well built, chiefly of wood. The fliipping 
belonging to this port, in 1816, amounted to 18,875 
tons, and is employed in the filheries, Weft India and 
European trade. A rivulet pafles through the town, 
which affords a valuable fifhery, and alfo furnifhes feats 
for a number of mills and important manufactories, 
among which are confiderable iron-works, and cotton 
and woollen manufactories. A fort for the defence of 
the town, and a lighthoufe, are built 9 miles eaft by north 
of Plymouth. The parifh is extenfive, containing more 
than 80 fquare miles. It is the oldeft town in New 
England. The firft fettlers landed here on the 22d of 
December, 1620 : this anniverfary is ftill obferved. The 
rock on which they landed was conveyed, in 1774, 
to the centre of the town. Population 4228 : thirty-fix 
miles fouth-fouth-eafl of Bofton. Lat. 41. 58. N. Ion. 
70. 30. W. 
PLYM'OUTH, a feaport town of the United States, 
and capital of Wafhington county, North Carolina, near 
the mouth of the Roanoke: twenty miles fouth of 
Eder.ton. 
PLYM'OUTH, a townfhip and village of the United 
States, in Grafton county, New Hamplhire, on the weft 
fide of the Merrimack. The village has a church and 
937 inhabitants. 
PLYM'OUTH, formerly Saltash, a townfhip of the 
United States, where a remarkable cavern w'as difcovered 
in 1818. Population 834. 
PLYM'OUTH, a townfhip of the United States, in 
Litchfield county, Connecticut. Population 1882.— A 
townfhip of Chenango county, New York. Population 
1285.—A townfhip of Luzerne county, Pennfylvania, 
on the Sufquehannah. Population 785.—A townfhip of 
Montgomery county, Pennfylvania. Population 895. 
PLYM'PTON, a townfhip in Plymouth county, Mafla¬ 
chufetts : forty-five miles fouth-eaftof Bofton, containing 
900 inhabitants. 
PLYM'PTON, Plympton Earl, or PlyMfton Mau¬ 
rice, a market and borough town of -England, in 
the county of Devon, fituated in a pleafant valley about 
a mile fouth-eaft of the river Plym. It confifts chiefly of 
two llreets difpofed in the form of a Roman T. The 
church or chapel is appendant to the parifh of Plympton 
St. Mary, a neighbouring village. Near it is a well en¬ 
dowed free-fchooi, ereCted about the year 1664. The 
guildhall, where the corn-market is held, is an ancient 
building fupported on ftone columns; and, among other 
portraits, contains one, byhimfelf, of fir Joflnta Reynolds, 
who was born here in 1723, his father being matter of the 
grammar-fchool. On the north fide of the town ftand 
the ruins of the caftle, once a magnificent building, erect¬ 
ed by Richard de Rivers, earl of Devonfhire, to whom 
the town, with the honour of Plympton, of which it 
PLY 
formed part, was granted by Henry I. hence it acquired 
the name of Plympton Earl, having been originally 
called Plympton Thomas, out of rel’pedt to Thomas 
a Becket. The caftle included nearly two acres, and 
was encompafled by a high rampart and a very deep 
ditch ; the latter ftill remains, but the walls of the caftle 
are almoft wholly deftroyed. An artificial mount, about 
70 feet high, and 200 in circumference, is ftill Handing. 
Plympton is defcribed in Doomfday Book under the 
title of Terra Regis, as are Taviftock, Afhburton, and 
Tiverton, all of which places were then the king’s de- 
mefne lands, but not burghs-, and the making this place 
fo is attributed to Baldwin de Redvers, earl of Devon, 
and Lord of the Ifle of Wight, as is recited by his charter 
given by Iifpeximus, in the 13th Edward III. and con¬ 
firmed by Edward III. Richard II. Henry V. and VI, 
Yet fome more ancient charters muft have been granted ; 
for the place has fent members to parliament, though 
irregularly, from the 23d of Edward I. and w-as made a 
inayor-town by king John. However this maybe, queen 
Elizabeth granted a new charter, under which the town 
is now governed by a mayor, a recorder, eight aldermen, 
a bailiff, and a town-clerk. The mayor is invefted with 
the powers of a juftice of the peace, and holds a court of 
record at ftated intervals. The fyftem of modelling the 
charters, exercifed in the arbitrary reigns of Charles II, 
and James II. was praflifed in this borough : but the 
charter of James II. was, at the revolution, voted illegal, 
and deftruitive of the conftitution and government; and 
the freemen claiming under the former charters were re¬ 
admitted to their franchife. The right of eleftion (Jan. 
28, 1703.) is “ in the mayor, bailiff, and freemen, and in the 
Tons of freemen, who, although they have a right to 
demand their freedom, have been refufed the fame.” 
This has reduced the number of voters to about 40, vnoft 
of whom are non-refidertf. The earl of Mount Edge¬ 
combe is the patron of the borough ; but, as Mr. Old¬ 
field obferves, the legal voters being freemen having an 
hereditary right to the fame, agreeably to the decifion 
in 1703, it is prefumed that all thofe who have been 
made free by the mayor and eight aldermen have no 
right to vote. “ About forty of that defcription, chofen 
from all parts of England, at prefent exercife the privi¬ 
lege, to the total exclufion of fuch fons of freemen as are 
duly entitled to it, and have a right to admifiion. The 
lift of this body of electors, created by nine men who 
are all non-refidents, and have no more concern with the 
borough of Plympton than they have with the city of 
Conftantinople, is fo curious, that” Mr. Oldfield has 
given a lift of them in his 3d volume, and a lift alfo of 
thofe “ fons of freemen who are fuppofed to be the only- 
legal electors.” The prefent menibers (Off. 1824.) are— 
John Henry North, of Merrion-fquare, Dublin, and G. 
W. Paxton, of Watford, Herts, elqrs. Plympton is one 
of the ftannary-towns; population 715 perfons, occupy¬ 
ing 92 houfes. There is a market on Saturday for 
butchers’ meat; and ^the town is well fupplied with fifti 
from the neighbouring fea-ports almoft every day r . There 
is alfo a market for all kinds of cattle the fecond Wed- 
nefday in every month ; and five fairs ; viz. the 25th of 
February, the 5th of April, Holy Thurfday, the 12th of 
Auguft, and the 29th of Oftober, for all kinds of cattle 
woollen cloth, (hoes, leather, pedlary, &c. 
Plympton is about a quarter of a mile fouth of the 
turnpike-road leading to Exeter; and the foil in this 
neighbourhood is very fertile, and abounds with great 
plenty of corn and apples; not lefs than ten thoufand 
hogftieads of cyder being made in one year in the fpace 
of ten miles round Plympton. This fmall town is only 
five miles eaft of Plymouth, thirty-nine fouth-weft from 
Exeter, and 218 welt by fouth from London. Lat. 50. 
23. N. Ion. 4. 2. W. 
Plympton St. Mary, mentioned above as adjoining 
to Plympton Earl, is a village and parifli of very con¬ 
fiderable antiquity. The church w'as formerly collegiate 
for 
