480 JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
Such then is the history of the origin of the Plymouth Water- 
works as set forth in the Municipal Records—the only absolutely 
contemporary and official statement of the proceedings of Sir 
Francis Drake and the Corporation. I submit with confidence 
that these records can bear no other meaning than that I have 
assigned to them. They prove conclusively that the water scheme 
originated with the Corporation ; that the Corporation procured the 
Act of Parliament under which it was carried out; that their 
surveyor, Robert Lampen, was the real engineer of the undertaking ; 
that they made a large portion of the leat by their own workmen ; 
that Drake’s share was that only of a well-paid contractor ; and that 
from beginning to end every farthing of the cost was borne by the 
Corporation. Including the first outlay on Conduits, &c., a total of 
over £850, or between £4,500 and £5,000 in present money, was 
found by the Mayor and Commonalty for this purpose, and that at 
a time when the average regular yearly income of the Corporation 
did not reach £350. 
Among the many arguments that have been used in support of 
the Drake origin of the leat, one, upon which some stress has been 
laid, is that the Corporate Records may be incomplete, and that 
Drake may have done many things in this regard of which no 
entry exists. It is a sufficient answer that the entries as they 
stand account for the whole work. No other powers were needed 
than the Act confers ; Lampen was an efficient engineer; the money 
spent by the Corporation itself and handed over to Drake was 
enough for the execution of the entire scheme. There is no room 
left for the exercise of Drake’s influence or generosity. Besides, 
the Municipality of the day were not ungrateful. They acknow- 
ledged the ‘care and diligence” with which Drake carried out his 
contract. They were always careful to note benefactions. The 
“ Black Book” sets forth the gift of the “Union Cup” by John 
White, in 1585, the very year of the Water Act; the Receivers’ 
Accounts perpetuate the memory of the liberality of Walter 
Mathews in erecting a Conduit; they note that Drake and 
Hawkins gave the broken brass cannon towards the bells. If 
Drake had done anything worthy of gratitude or record in con- 
nection with the water beyond his composition, assuredly it would 
have been set down, The idea that he did so is, however, the 
fiction of a later age. . 
