 Image of Drake's Island landing platform from Millbay,Plymouth | |
  Drakes Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°21′20″N4°9′13″W / 50.35556°N 4.15361°W /50.35556; -4.15361 |
| OS grid reference | SX4681952912 |
| Adjacent to | Plymouth Sound |
| Area | 2.6 ha (6.4 acres) |
| Length | 400 m (1300 ft) |
| Width | 100 m (300 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
Drake's Island is a 6.5-acre (2.6-hectare) island approximately 500 metres from land[1] inPlymouth Sound, the stretch of water south of the city ofPlymouth, Devon. The rocks which make up the island are volcanictuff andlava, together with marinelimestone of theDevonian period.[2] For more than 400 years the island was fortified.
The first recorded name for the island was in 1135, when it was referred to asSt Michael's after the chapel erected on it.[3] At some later date the chapel was rededicated toSt Nicholas and the island adopted the same name. From the latter part of the 16th century the island was occasionally referred to as Drake's Island after SirFrancis Drake, the Englishprivateer who used Plymouth as his home port. Even well into the 19th century, maps and other references continued to refer to the island as St Nicholas's Island and it is only in about the last 100 years that this name has slipped into disuse and the name Drake's Island has been adopted.[4]
It was from Plymouth that Drake sailed in 1577, to return in 1580 havingcircumnavigated the world, and in 1583 Drake was made governor of the island.[5] From 1549 the island began to be fortified as a defence against the French and Spanish, with barracks for 300 men being built on the island in the late 16th century.[6]
In 1642, during theEnglish Civil War, Plymouth declared itself for Parliament. During the wars, the island was used to defend Plymouth from the Royalist army's siege of the city.[3][7]
For several centuries, the island remained the focal point of the defence of thethree original towns that were to become modern Plymouth. In 1665 theLevellerRobert Lilburne died imprisoned on the island.[8] He had been sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in theregicide ofCharles I. A few years laterJohn Lambert, a former general of theNew Model Army in theEnglish Civil War, was moved to Drake's Island from Guernsey, where he had been imprisoned since 1662. Like Lilburne, he never regained his liberty, dying on Drake's Island in the winter of 1683.[9]
In June 1774 the first recordedsubmarine fatality in history occurred north of Drake's Island, when acarpenter namedJohn Day perished while testing a wooden diving chamber attached to the sloopMaria.[10]
The 1859Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommended a huge programme of new fortifications to defend Plymouth. On Drake's Island, the existing battery at the centre of the island was to be replaced by five12-inch muzzle loading guns in open emplacements. A new battery was to be built on the southwestern end, of 219-inch guns in an arc of stonecasemates with iron shields.[3][11] The work was not complete in 1880. Six12-pounder quick firing guns were added in 1897 and three6-inch guns became the main armament in 1901; the original muzzle loaders were dumped under a pile of earth.[12] Finally, in 1942, a modern twin6-pounder gun was installed.
FollowingWorld War II Drake's Island remained under the administration of theWar Office, which, despite having announced in 1956 that it was no longer needed for defence purposes, did not finally vacate the island until 1963, when Plymouth City Council obtained a lease from the Crown with the aim of establishing a youth adventure training centre there. This centre was opened in 1964, the year in which a mains water supply finally reached the island.[13]
On 1 May 1987 the island got its first telephone line, using a cable attached to the mains water pipe. The telephone number was Plymouth 63393.[11] The warden had previously used the Ministry of Defence system. Drake's Island Adventure Centre, under the custody of the Mayflower Centre Trust, operated until 31 March 1989, when the Mayflower Trust surrendered their lease to the Crown and sold off the boats and sports equipment.[13]
In 1995, Drake's Island was put up for sale by theCrown Estate, with an asking price of £235,000, and had numerous offers. In the end, a bidding war commenced between the thenPlymouth Argyle chairman,Dan McCauley, and a Cheshire-born businessman who wanted to open it to the public. McCauley's bid was successful, and he bought the island for £384,000 in 1995, with plans to turn it into a hotel complex.[14]
In 2003,Plymouth City Council turned down a planning application from McCauley to build a hotel and leisure complex complete withhelipad.[citation needed] McCauley further submitted planning permission in 2011.[15]
In May 2005 the island attracted British media attention when one of the empty buildings on the island wassquatted by a group of anti-nuclear protesters,Trident Ploughshares.[16]
The island's owner, Dan McCauley, receivedplanning consent in April 2017 and released details showing how the Grade II-listed Island House, barracks block and ablutions building could be linked to form a £10 million-plus hotel and spa complex containing 25 bedrooms.[17]
In October 2018, the island was put up for sale for £6 million.[18][19] It was purchased by Morgan Phillips.[20] Phillips plans to open the island to the public with a museum and heritage centre, thirty years after previously closing.[21]
On 15 March 2020, the island received its first public visitors since 1989 when a one-off public tour was held to raise money for St Luke's Hospice.[22] Drake's Island featured in an episode of theBBC'sAntiques Road Trip first broadcast on 17 December 2020,[23] and in an episode of the BBC'sSecret Britain first broadcast on 20 April 2016.[24] Regular guided tours have been held on the island since summer 2020.[25]
50°21′20″N4°9′13″W / 50.35556°N 4.15361°W /50.35556; -4.15361
