| Devonport | |
|---|---|
 Devonport skyline | |
  Devonport Location withinDevon | |
| OS grid reference | SX455547 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PLYMOUTH |
| Postcode district | PL1 |
| Dialling code | 01752 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°22′37″N4°10′34″W / 50.377°N 4.176°W /50.377; -4.176 | |
Devonport (/ˈdɛvənpɔːrt/DEV-ən-port),[1] formerly namedPlymouth Dock or justDock,[2] is a district ofPlymouth in the English county ofDevon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one of the "Three Towns" (along with Plymouth andEast Stonehouse); these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in theParliament of the United Kingdom as part of thePlymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency. Its electedMember of Parliament (MP) isLuke Pollard, who is a member of theLabour and Co-operative Party. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 14,788.[3]
In 1690 the Admiralty gave a contract to Robert Waters from Portsmouth to build a stone dock at Point Froward on the east bank of theHamoaze at the mouth of theRiver Tamar. Plymouth Dock, as Devonport was originally called, began around 1700 as a small settlement to house workers employed on the new naval base that was being built around Waters' dock.[4] By 1733 its population had grown to around 3,000,[5] and by 1801 it was already larger than both the nearby towns of Plymouth and Stonehouse together.[6]
By 1811 the population of Plymouth Dock was just over 30,000 and the residents resented the fact that its name made it sound like an adjunct of Plymouth. In 1823 a petition to King George IV requested the town should be renamed, and suggested "Devonport". The king agreed to the change of name, which took effect on 1 January 1824.[7][8] To celebrate, the town builtDevonport Column next to the recently completedguildhall; both were designed byJohn Foulston.[2] Devonport was first incorporated as amunicipal borough in 1837 under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835.
In July 1849, the first outbreaks in what became acholera epidemic arose onUnion Street which connected Plymouth to Devonport, and were initially attributed to blockage of several house drains during construction of a newMillbay railway station.[9][10] Devonport became acounty borough under theLocal Government Act 1888. In 1914 the county borough of Devonport was abolished, when it and the neighbouringurban district ofEast Stonehouse were absorbed into the county borough of Plymouth.[11]
In the mid-eighteenth century a defensive earthwork was constructed around the town and dockyard. Within these dockyard 'lines', six square barracks were built between in 1758–63 to accommodate the garrison of troops required to man the defences.[12] A series ofredoubts were also constructed, forward of the lines, in the 1770s, including that at Mount Pleasant (of which there are substantial remains).[13] In the early nineteenth century, the dockyard lines were strengthened with stone ramparts and armed with guns, and the adjacent ditches were deepened. These defences became largely redundant with the building of a series ofPalmerston Forts around Plymouth in the second half of the nineteenth century. Much of the open land forming theglacis beyond the lines became Devonport Park in the late 1850s.[14] Three of the six small barracks were replaced in 1854–6 by the sizeableRaglan Infantry Barracks, designed by CaptainFrancis Fowke (who later designed theAlbert Hall); today only its gatehouse remains (and that in a derelict state), the rest having been demolished in the 1970s.[15]
The high ground south of the town is called Mount Wise. Enclosed within the town ramparts, it was given its own redoubt in the 1770s, with eight guns and two mortars protecting the coastal approach to the dockyard. In earlier times, agun wharf had been established on the quayside here to the south-east; the gun wharf was removed (and re-established at Morice Yard alongside the Dockyard) in 1724, but the area remained dominated by the armed forces up until the present century. From the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century both themilitary Governor andnaval Commander-in-Chief of Plymouth were accommodated in large houses on Mount Wise (inGovernment House andAdmiralty House respectively).[16] In 1805 aRoyal Laboratory (an outpost of theWoolwich Arsenal) was established just north-west of the redoubt;small-arms ammunition and explosives were manufactured here, until the compound was converted into barracks accommodation (Mount Wise Barracks) in the 1830s.[17]
During the millennium decade, Devonport received governmentNew Deal for Communities funding of £48.7 million; this enabled an extensive Regeneration programme to be carried out. Since 2009, the investments have begun to transform Devonport – physically, socially, demographically. Where once the area was run-down, depressed, and classified as 'deprived' in many categories, the 21st-century Devonport is beginning to achieve the city's vision of ... "The recreation of Devonport as a distinct place in modern Plymouth; a vibrant self sustaining community; a place of real quality, variety and interest, the pride of residents, attractive to visitors and a model of 21st Century living, working and playing."[18]
The Admiralty's release of several land plots in Devonport has assisted the Regeneration project. One ex-MoD area, where new homes will be available from 2011, is the Admiralty House site at Mount Wise. Although there are pockets of regeneration work remaining to be completed, the waterfront district of Devonport is becoming one of the desired residential areas of the city of Plymouth.[19]
In 2011, theDevonport Heritage Trail was introduced, complete with over 70 waymarkers outlining the route.[20]
Devonport has its own shopping street, arailway station, a swimming pool, park and a sports ground,The Brickfields. Since 2003, it has been the home ofPlymouth Albion, the city'sRugby union club located near Plymouth City College.
Devonport is also home to the Devonport Playhouse, atheatre located in the formerMethodist Central Hall in Fore Street. The space was purchased and converted into a performance venue by the Plymouth Theatre Company back in 1987.[21] It is a popular venue with the localAmateur Dramatic companies, choirs and dancing schools in Plymouth especially, since the closure ofthe Athenaeum in central Plymouth.[22]
UTC Plymouth is auniversity technical college (UTC) which opened in September 2013 nearDevonport Park. The UTC is situated on the former site of Parkside Community College,[23] which closed in August 2008 due to falling enrolment.[24]
TheTorpoint Ferry service across theHamoaze (River Tamar) operates from Devonport to Cornwall.
Devonport Naval base/Dockyard has, over the years, been known as "Guz" bynaval ratings. There are various explanations for the nickname: theRoyal Naval Museum says it is short forGuzzle and refers to Devoncream teas.[25]
Charles Darwin spent two months in Devonport from October 1831 waiting for the weather to improve so thatHMSBeagle could begin itsjourney to South America. The ship finally left on 27 December and Darwin later wrote that those two months were "The most miserable which I ever spent".[28]
...his Majesty has been graciously pleased to comply with the prayer of the said petition, and to direct that, on and after the 1st day of January next, the town of Plymouth-Dock shall be called and known by the name of Devonport...
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