PLYMPTON CASTLE. 267 
had not been forgetful of his other possessions, and at Plympton 
he had left a strong guard to defend the Castle, and the lands and 
tenants of the Honour and manor there. But those to whom this 
trust was committed proved faithless, and fearing the ultimate 
success of the king, and the improbability of Plympton being 
able to hold out against an army which it seemed probable Exeter 
would be unable to resist, made overtures to Stephen privately, 
asking for terms in consideration of the surrender of the Castle. 
The anonymous author of the Acts of Stephen tells us that 
“Baldwin’s soldiers who were entrusted with the defence of his 
Castle of Plympton, in despair for their lord, from the accounts 
they heard of the king’s power, and fearing for their own lives, 
from mere cowardice and want of firmness, privately sent messen- 
gers to the king to treat for the surrender of the Castle and make 
terms for themselves. The king was desirous if possible to crush 
these disorders without having recourse to arms, and he therefore 
readily granted all they required, if only they submitted to him 
and became his peaceable subjects. The agreement being ratified, 
the king detached two hundred horse with a large body of archers, 
who early in the morning made their appearance before Plympton, 
to the great dismay of the inhabitants (comprovincialibus), and 
especially of those who were not of the faction. The traitors 
delivered up the Castle to the king’s troops on the pretence that 
they were not strong enough to defend it. It was rased to the 
ground by the king’s command, and Baldwin’s domains, which 
were very extensive in that district, and were fertile and well 
stocked, were stripped of everything, so that the expedition re- 
turned to the king at Exeter with many thousand sheep and cattle. 
The intelligence spreading through the whole of Devonshire, the 
other adherents of Baldwin, fearing the loss of their property from 
the king’s expedition, offered their submission, with the exception 
of Alfred.” * 
The possessions of Baldwin thus harried by the soldiers of the 
king extended far beyond the immediate limits of the Castle of 
Plympton. It would occupy too much time now to endeavour to 
define accurately the extent of the manor; but I may briefly say 
that it covered a considerable portion of the present parishes of 
Plympton St. Mary and St. Maurice, a large part of Plymstock, 
* « Gesta Stephani Regis Anglorum,”’ ed. R. C. Sewell, 1846, p. 28. ‘* Acts 
of Stephen,” Trans. by Thos. Forester. Bohn, 1853, p. 339. 
