Plymouth's history extends back to theBronze Age, evolving from a trading post atMount Batten into the thrivingmarket town of Sutton, which was formally re-named as Plymouth in 1439 when it was made aborough. The settlement has played a significant role in English history, notably in 1588 when an English fleet based here defeated theSpanish Armada, and in 1620 as the departure point for thePilgrim Fathers to theNew World. During theEnglish Civil War, the town was held by theParliamentarians and was besieged between 1642 and 1646. In 1690 adockyard was established on the River Tamar for theRoyal Navy and Plymouth grew as a commercial shipping port throughout theIndustrial Revolution.
After absorbing nearby settlements in 1914, the borough was awarded city status in 1928. DuringWorld War II, Plymouth suffered extensive damage in thePlymouth Blitz, leading to post-war rebuilding that significantly shaped its modern appearance. A further expansion of its boundaries in 1967 contributed to its current status as the30th-most populous built-up area in the UK and the second-largest city in the South West afterBristol, with a population in 2022 of 266,862.
Plymouth's economy, historically rooted in shipbuilding and seafaring, has transitioned towards a service-based economy since the 1990s. It maintains strong maritime connections, hostingHMNB Devonport, the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, and offering ferry links to Brittany and Spain. The city is also home to theUniversity of Plymouth, reflecting its educational and cultural significance. Today, the city is governed locally byPlymouth City Council and is represented nationally by three[4]Members of Parliament.
The settlement ofPlympton, further up theRiver Plym than the current Plymouth, was also an early trading port. (SeePlympton for the derivation of the namePlym.) As the river silted up in the early 11th century, mariners and merchants were forced to settle downriver, at the current dayBarbican near the river mouth.[10] At the time this village was called Sutton, meaningsouth town inOld English.[10] The namePlym Mouth, meaning "mouth of the River Plym" was first mentioned in aPipe Roll of 1211.[11]Plympton Priory owned land at Sutton and secured a charter fromHenry III in 1254 granting the priory the right to hold a weekly market and annual fair at Sutton, making it amarket town.[12]
Prysten House (1498) on Finewell Street is the oldest surviving house in Plymouth, built from local Plymouth limestone andDartmoor granite.
During theHundred Years' War a French attack in 1340 burned a manor house and took some prisoners, but failed to get into the town.[13] In 1403 the town was burned byBreton raiders.[14] On 12 November 1439 the market town of Sutton was incorporated as aborough and formally renamed Plymouth, with a subsequent charter the following year formalising its boundaries. It was the first time a borough charter had been issued byparliament rather than directly from the monarch.[15][16]
In the late fifteenth century,Plymouth Castle, a "castle quadrate", was constructed close to the area now known as The Barbican; it included four round towers, one at each corner, as featured on the city coat of arms.[17]
Charter map of Sutton harbour and Plymouth in 1540
The castle served to protectSutton Pool, which is where the fleet was based in Plymouth prior to the establishment ofPlymouth Dockyard. In 1512, an Act of Parliament was passed to further fortify Plymouth. The work included defensive walls at the entrance to Sutton Pool (across which a chain was extended in times of danger).[18] Defences onSt Nicholas Island also date from this time, and a string of six artilleryblockhouses were built, including one on Fishers Nose at the south-eastern corner of the Hoe.[19] This location was further strengthened by the building of a fort (later known as Drake's Fort) in 1596; it was the site of theCitadel, established in the 1660s (see below).[20]
During the 16th century, locally produced wool was the major export commodity.[21] Plymouth was the home port for successful maritime traders, among themSir John Hawkins, who led England's first foray into theAtlantic slave trade,[22] as well as SirFrancis Drake, Mayor of Plymouth in 1581–2. Crews for the first English failed settlement attempt atRoanoke Colony in North America departed in 1587 under SirWalter Raleigh's and Drake's leadership; returning bearing maize, tobacco andpotatoes.In 1588, according to legend, Drake insisted on completing his game of bowls on theHoe before engaging theSpanish Armada.[23] In 1620 thePilgrims set sail for theNew World from Plymouth, establishingPlymouth Colony – the second English colony in what is now the United States.[24] In 1625, the town Mayor estimated that African slavers captured that summer about 1,000 villagers from the area, to be sold in Africa.[25]
During theEnglish Civil War Plymouth sided with theParliamentarians and wasbesieged for almost four years by theRoyalists.[26] The last major attack by the Royalists was by SirRichard Grenville leading thousands of soldiers towards Plymouth, but they were defeated by the Plymothians at Freedom Fields Park.[26][27] The civil war ended as a Parliamentary win, but monarchy was restored byKing Charles II in 1660, who imprisoned many of the Parliamentary heroes onDrake's Island.[26] Construction of theRoyal Citadel began in 1665, afterthe Restoration; it was armed with cannon facing both out to sea and into the town, rumoured to be a reminder to residents not to opposethe Crown.[28]Mount Batten tower also dates from around this time.[29]
John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library inDevonportBlack-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth mourning their lovers, who are soon to be transported toBotany Bay, 1792Unloading mail by hand from theSir Francis Drake atMillbay Docks, March 1926
Throughout the 17th century, Plymouth had gradually lost its pre-eminence as a trading port. By the mid-17th century, commodities manufactured elsewhere in England cost too much to transport to Plymouth, and the city had no means of processing sugar or tobacco imports, major products from the colonies. Local sailors turning to piracy such asHenry Every became infamous, celebrated in the London playThe Successful Pyrate. It played a part in theAtlantic slave trade during the early 18th century, although it was relatively small.[21]
In the nearby parish ofStoke Damerel the first dockyard,HMNB Devonport, opened in 1690 on the eastern bank of theRiver Tamar. Further docks were built here in 1727, 1762 and 1793.[1] The settlement that developed here was called "Dock" or "Plymouth Dock" at the time,[30] and a new town, separate from Plymouth, grew up. In 1712 there were 318 men employed and by 1733 the population had grown to 3,000 people.[10]
Before the latter half of the 18th century, grain, timber and then coal were Plymouth's main imports.[31] During this time the real source of wealth was from the neighbouring town of Plymouth Dock (renamed in 1824 to Devonport) and the major employer in the entire region was the dockyard.[10] TheThree Towns conurbation of Plymouth,Stonehouse andDevonport enjoyed some prosperity during the late 18th and early 19th century and were enriched by a series ofneo-classical urban developments designed by London architectJohn Foulston.[32] Foulston was important for both Devonport and Plymouth and was responsible for several grand public buildings, many now destroyed,[33] including the Athenaeum, theTheatre Royal and Royal Hotel, and much ofUnion Street.[32]
Plymouth the Hoe (postcard c. 1920) byA.R. QuintonPlymouth the Promenade Pier (postcard c. 1925) byA. R. Quinton
The 1-mile-long (2 km) Breakwater in Plymouth Sound was designed byJohn Rennie to protect the fleet moving in and out of Devonport; work started in 1812. Numerous technical difficulties and repeated storm damage meant that it was not completed until 1841, twenty years after Rennie's death.[35] In the 1860s, a ring ofPalmerston forts was constructed around the outskirts of Devonport, to protect the dockyard from attack from any direction.[36]
Some of the most significant imports to Plymouth from the Americas and Europe during the latter half of the 19th century included maize, wheat, barley, sugar cane,guano,sodium nitrate andphosphate.[37] Aside from the dockyard in the town of Devonport, industries in Plymouth such as the gasworks, the railways and tramways, and a number of small chemical works had begun to develop in the 19th century, continuing into the 20th century.[38]
During theFirst World War, Plymouth was the port of entry for many troops from around theEmpire. It was developed as a facility for the manufacture ofmunitions.[39] Although major units of the Royal Navy moved to the safety ofScapa Flow, Devonport was an important base for escort vessels and repairs. Flying boats operated from Mount Batten.[39]
During the Second World War,Devonport was the headquarters ofWestern Approaches Command until 1941, andSunderland flying boats were operated by theRoyal Australian Air Force. It was an important embarkation point for US troops forD-Day.[40] The city was heavily bombed by theLuftwaffe, in a series of 59 raids known as thePlymouth Blitz.[38] Although thedockyards were the principal targets, much of the city centre and over 3,700 houses were completely destroyed and more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives. This was largely due to Plymouth's status as a major port.[41]Charles Church was hit byincendiary bombs and partially destroyed in 1941 during the Blitz, but has not been demolished. It has been designated as an official permanent monument to the bombing of Plymouth during World War II.[42]
The redevelopment of the city was planned bySir Patrick Abercrombie in his 1943Plan for Plymouth whilst simultaneously working on the reconstruction plan for London.[43] This initially included plans to expand the city intosouth east Cornwall, but these were abandoned after opposition fromCornwall County Council.[44] Between 1951 and 1957 over 1000 homes were completed every year, mostly using innovative prefabricated systems of just three main types.[45]
ThePlan for Plymouth was, on the one hand, a template for the rapid reassembly of a destroyed city centre, but Abercrombie also took the opportunity to lay out a whole hierarchy of settlements across the city of communities, neighbourhoods and districts. Central to this was a revision of transport infrastructure that prioritised the position of the railway as a gateway to the city centre and provided in the long-term for a dual carriageway road by-pass that only finally came into being in the 1980s (forty years after being planned). The plan is the subject ofJill Craigie's documentaryThe Way We Live (1946).
By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, transforming the dense overcrowded and unsanitary slums of the pre-war city into a low density, dispersed suburbia.[45][46] Most of the city centre shops had been destroyed and those that remained were cleared to enable a zoned reconstruction according to his plan.[45][46] In 1962 themodernist high rise of theCivic Centre was constructed, an architecturally significant example of mid-twentieth century civic slab-and-tower set piece. ThePlymouth City Council allowed it to fall into disrepair but it wasgrade II listed in 2007 byEnglish Heritage to prevent its demolition.[45][47]
Post-war, Devonport Dockyard was kept busy refitting aircraft carriers such as theArk Royal and, later,nuclear submarines. New light industrial factories were constructed in the newlyzoned industrial sector, attracting rapid growth of the urban population. The army had substantially left the city by 1971, after barracks were pulled down in the 1960s,[46] but the city remains home to29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery[48] and also42 Commando of theRoyal Marines.[46]
The first record of the existence of a settlement at Plymouth was in theDomesday Book in 1086 asSudtone (Sutton), Saxon for south farm, located at the present-dayBarbican.[1] From Saxon times, it was in thehundred ofRoborough.[52] Sutton became a market town in 1254 and a borough in 1439, when it was formally renamed Plymouth.[1]
Plymouth was reformed to become amunicipal borough in 1836, governed by a corporate body officially called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Plymouth", but generally known as the corporation or town council.[53] When elected county councils were established in 1889, both Plymouth and neighbouring Devonport were considered large enough to provide their own county-level services and so they were madecounty boroughs, independent fromDevon County Council.[54] In 1914 the county boroughs of Plymouth and Devonport and the adjoiningurban district ofEast Stonehouse were merged to form a single county borough of Plymouth.[55][10] Collectively they were referred to as "The Three Towns".[56]
Plymouth was grantedcity status on 18 October 1928.[57] Between 1439 and 1935, Plymouth had a mayor.[58] In 1935 the city was given the right to appoint a Lord Mayor. The city's boundaries further expanded in 1967 to include the town ofPlympton and theparish ofPlymstock.[10]
The 1971Local Government White Paper proposed abolishing county boroughs, which would have left Plymouth, a town of 250,000 people, being administered from a council based at the smallerExeter, on the other side of the county. This led to Plymouth lobbying for the creation of a Tamarside county, to include Plymouth,Torpoint,Saltash, and the ruralhinterland.[59] The campaign was not successful, and Plymouth ceased to be a county borough on 1 April 1974 with responsibility for education, social services, highways and libraries transferred toDevon County Council. All powers returned when the city became aunitary authority on 1 April 1998 under recommendations of theBanham Commission.[60]
In 1919,Nancy Astor was elected the first-ever female member of parliament to take office in the British Houses of Parliament for the constituency ofPlymouth Sutton. She was elected to the seat vacated by her husbandWaldorf Astor on his elevation to the peerage. Lady Astor was a vibrantly active campaigner for her resident constituents.
In 1945, Plymouth-bornMichael Foot was elected Labour MP for the constituency ofPlymouth Devonport which had been heavily damaged in thePlymouth Blitz. He represented the seat until 1955. After serving as Secretary of State for Education and being responsible for the 1974Health and Safety at Work Act, he went on to become the leader of theLabour Party (1980–1983).
The City of Plymouth is divided into 20wards, 17 of which elect three councillors and the other three electing two councillors, making up a total council of 57.[62] Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four year term.[62] The totalelectorate for Plymouth's Parliamentary constituencies was 190,006 in April 2019.[63] Since May 2023 Plymouth has had a Labour majority Council.[64] Plymouth City Council is formallytwinned with:Brest, France (1963),Gdynia, Poland (1976),Novorossiysk, Russia (1990)San Sebastián, Spain (1990) andPlymouth, United States (2001).[65]
Plymouth was granted the dignity ofLord Mayor by KingGeorge V in 1935. The position is elected each year by a group of six councillors.[66] It is traditional that the position of the Lord Mayor alternates between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party annually and that the Lord Mayor chooses the Deputy Lord Mayor.[66]
The Lord Mayor's official residence is 3 Elliot Terrace, located onthe Hoe.[67] Once a home ofWaldorf andNancy Astor, it was given by Lady Astor to the City of Plymouth as an official residence for future Lord Mayors and is also used today for civic hospitality, as lodgings for visiting dignitaries and High Court judges and it is also available to hire for private events.[67] The Civic Centre municipal office building in Armada Way became alisted building in June 2007 because of its quality and period features, but has become the centre of a controversy as the council planned for its demolition estimating that it could cost £40m to refurbish it, resulting in possible job losses.[68]
Geologically, Plymouth has a mixture of limestone, Devonianslate,granite and MiddleDevonian limestone.[73]Plymouth Sound, Shores and Cliffs is aSite of Special Scientific Interest, because of its geology.[74] The bulk of the city is built upon Upper Devonian slates and shales and the headlands at the entrance to Plymouth Sound are formed of Lower Devonian slates, which can withstand the power of the sea.[73]
A band of Middle Devonian limestone runs west to east fromCremyll toPlymstock including the Hoe.[73] Local limestone may be seen in numerous buildings, walls and pavements throughout Plymouth.[73] To the north and northeast of the city is the granite mass of Dartmoor; the granite was mined and exported via Plymouth. Rocks brought down the Tamar from Dartmoor include ores containing tin, copper,tungsten, lead and other minerals.[73] There is evidence that the middle Devonian limestone belt at the south edge of Plymouth and in Plymstock was quarried at West Hoe, Cattedown and Radford.[75]
On 27 April 1944Sir Patrick Abercrombie'sPlan for Plymouth to rebuild the bomb-damaged city was published; it called for demolition of the few remaining pre-War buildings in the city centre to make way for their replacement with wide, parallel, modernboulevards aligned east–west linked by a north–southavenue (Armada Way) linking the railway station with the vista of Plymouth Hoe.[43]
A peripheral road system connecting the historic Barbican on the east and Union Street to the west determines the principal form of the city centre, even following pedestrianisation of the shopping centre in the late 1980s, and continues to inform the present 'Vision for Plymouth' developed by a team led by Barcelona-based architectDavid MacKay in 2003 which calls for revivification of the city centre with mixed-use and residential.[76]
In suburban areas, post-Warprefabs had already begun to appear by 1946, and over 1,000 permanentcouncil houses were built each year from 1951 to 1957 according to theModernistzoned low-densitygarden city model advocated by Abercrombie.[46] By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, more than 13,500 of them permanent council homes and 853 built by theAdmiralty.[46]
Plymouth is home to 28 parks with an average size of 45,638 square metres (491,240 sq ft).[77] Its largest park isCentral Park,[78] with other sizeable green spaces includingVictoria Park,Freedom Fields Park, Alexandra Park,Devonport Park and the Hoe.[77] Central Park is the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club and a number of other leisure facilities.
The Plymouth Plan 2019–2034 was published May 2019 and sets the direction for future development with a new spatial strategy[79] which reinforces links with the wider region in west Devon and east Cornwall in its Joint Local Plan and identifies three development areas within the city: the City centre and waterfront; a 'northern corridor' including Derriford and the vacant airfield site atRoborough; and an 'eastern corridor' including major new settlements atSherford andLangage.[80] Plymouth is categorized as a Small-Port City using the Southampton System for port-city classification.[81]
Plymouth has a moderated temperateoceanic climate (KöppenCfb) which is wetter and milder than the rest of England. This means a wide range of exotic plants, palm trees, and yuccas can be cultivated. The annual mean high temperature is approximately 14 °C (57 °F). Due to the moderating effect of the sea and the south-westerly location, the climate is among the mildest of British cities, and one of the warmest UK cities in winter.[82] The coldest month of February is similarly moderate, having mild mean minimum temperatures between 3 and 4 °C (37 and 39 °F). Snow usually falls in small amounts but a noteworthy recent exception was the period of theEuropean winter storms of 2009–10 which, in early January 2010, covered Plymouth in at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow; more on higher ground. Another notable event was the 8 inches (20 cm) of snowfall between 17 and 19 December 2010 – though only 2 inches (5.1 cm) would lie at any one time due to melting. Over the 1961–1990 period, annual snowfall accumulation averaged less than 7 cm (3 in) per year.[83]
South West England has a favoured location when theAzores High pressure area extends north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Coastal areas have average annual sunshine totals over 1,600 hours.[84]
Owing to its geographic location, rainfall tends to be associated with Atlanticdepressions or with convection and is more frequent and heavier than in London and southeast England. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average annual rainfall is around 980 millimetres (39 in). November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.[84]
Typically, the warmest day of the year (1971–2000) will achieve a temperature of 28.6 °C (83 °F),[85] although in July 2022 the temperature reached 33.9 °C (93.0 °F),[86] the site record. On average, 4.25 days[87] of the year will report a maximum temperature of 25.1 °C (77 °F) or above. During the winter half of the year, the coldest night will typically fall to −4.1 °C (25 °F)[88] although in January 1979 the temperature fell to −8.8 °C (16 °F).[89] Typically, 18.6 nights[90] of the year will register an air frost.
The University of Plymouth enrolls 23,155 total students as of 2018/2019 (57th largest in the UK out of 169).[98] It also employs 2,900 staff with an annual income of around £160 million.[99] It was founded in 1992 from Polytechnic South West (formerly Plymouth Polytechnic) following theFurther and Higher Education Act 1992.[100] It has a wide range of courses including those in marine focused business, marine engineering, marine biology and Earth, ocean and environmental sciences, surf science, shipping and logistics.[101] The university formed a joint venture with the fellow DevonianUniversity of Exeter in 2000, establishing thePeninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry. The college is ranked 8th out of 30 universities in the UK in 2011 for medicine.[102] Its dental school was established in 2006, which also provides free dental care in an attempt to improve access to dental care in theSouth West.
The University of St Mark & St John (known as "Marjon" or "Marjons") specialises inteacher training, and offers training across the country and abroad.[103]
Arts University Plymouth offers a selection of courses including media. It was originally founded as the Plymouth Drawing School in 1856, and in December 2008, Plymouth College of Art and Design was renamed to Plymouth College of Art. In May 2022, the College was awarded University status, and became Arts University Plymouth.[104]
The city was also home to theRoyal Naval Engineering College; opened in 1880 inKeyham, it trained engineering students for five years before they completed the remaining two years of the course at Greenwich. The college closed in 1910, but in 1940 a new college opened atManadon. This was renamedDockyard Technical College in 1959 before finally closing in 1994; training was transferred to theUniversity of Southampton.[107]
A scheme is in operation over summer 2018 to provide meals during the summer holidays for children with parents on a low income, the parents cannot afford to provide their children with healthy meals.[109]
UPSU also known as the University of Plymouth Student Union is based underground near the library. Every student at the University of Plymouth is a member of UPSU. The Union employs students across the University, from bar staff to events technicians. Every year the students at the University have an opportunity to vote which sabbatical officers represent them. In 2019 over 4000 students voted in the UPSU elections.
Population pyramid of Plymouth (unitary authority) in 2021
From the 2011 Census, theOffice for National Statistics published that Plymouth's unitary authority area population was 256,384;[110] 15,664 more people than that of thelast census from 2001, which indicated that Plymouth had a population of 240,720.[111] The Plymouthurban area had a population of 260,203 in 2011 (theurban sprawl which extends outside the authority's boundaries). The city's average household size was 2.3 persons.[112][113] At the time of the 2011 UK census, the ethnic composition of Plymouth's population was 96.2%White (of 92.9% wasWhite British), with the largest minority ethnic group beingChinese at 0.5%.[110] The white Irish ethnic group saw the largest decline in its share of the population since the 2001 Census (−24%), while theOther Asian and Black African had the largest increases (360% and 351% respectively).[110][114] This excludes the two new ethnic groups added to the 2011 census of Gypsy or Irish Traveller and Arab. The population rose rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, but declined by over 1.6% from 1931 to 1951.
Plymouth'sgross value added (a measure of the size of its economy) was£5,169 million in 2013 making up 25% ofDevon's GVA.[115] Its GVA per person was £19,943 and compared to the national average of £23,755, was £3,812 lower.[115] Plymouth's unemployment rate was 7.0% in 2014 which was 2.0 points higher than the South West average and 0.8 points higher than the average for Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).[116]
A 2014 profile by theNational Health Service showed Plymouth had higher than average levels of poverty and deprivation (26.2% of the population among the poorest 20.4% nationally).[117] Life expectancy in Plymouth is 78.8 years for men and 82.5 for women[118]
Because of its coastal location, the economy of Plymouth has traditionally beenmaritime,[124] in particular the defence sector with over 12,000 people employed and approximately 7,500 in the armed forces.[125] ThePlymouth Gin Distillery has been producingPlymouth Gin since 1793, which was exported around the world by theRoyal Navy.[126] During the 1930s, it was the most widely distributedgin and had acontrolled term of origin[126] until 2015. Since the 1980s, employment in the defence sector has decreased substantially and the public sector is now prominent particularly in administration, health, education, medicine and engineering.[125]
Devonport Dockyard is the UK's only naval base that refits nuclear submarines and the Navy estimates that the Dockyard generates about 10% of Plymouth's income.[123] Plymouth has the largest cluster of marine and maritime businesses in the south west with 270 firms operating within the sector.[127] Other substantial employers includethe university with almost 3,000 staff,[99] the national retail chainThe Range at theirEstover headquarters, as well as thePlymouth Science Park employing 500 people in 50 companies.[125]
Plymouth has a post-war shopping area in the city centre with substantial pedestrianisation.[46] At the west end of the zone inside a grade IIlisted building isthe Pannier Market that was completed in 1959 –pannier meaning "basket" from French, so it translates as "basket market".[128] In terms of retail floorspace, Plymouth is ranked in the top five in theSouth West,[129] and 29th nationally.[130] Plymouth was one of the first ten British cities to trial the newBusiness improvement district initiative.[131] TheTinside Pool is situated at the foot of the Hoe and became a grade II listed building in 1998 before being restored to its 1930s look for £3.4 million.[132]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2017)
Since 2003, Plymouth Council has been undertaking a project of urban redevelopment called the "Vision for Plymouth" launched by the architectDavid Mackay and backed by both Plymouth City Council and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce (PCC).[76] With the aim of growing the population to 300,000 by building 33,000 new dwellings, its projects range from shopping centres, new public realm, a cruise terminal, rebalancing the underutilised city centre retail district and opening waterfront development linked by a new urban boulevard.[76]
In 2004 the old Drake Circus shopping centre and Charles Cross car park were demolished and replaced by the latestDrake Circus Shopping Centre, which opened in October 2006.[133] It received negative feedback before opening when David Mackay said it was already "ten years out of date".[133] It was awarded the first everCarbuncle Cup, awarded for Britain's ugliest building, in 2006.[134] In contrast, theTheatre Royal's production and education centre, TR2, which was built on wasteland atCattedown, was a runner-up for the RIBAStirling Prize for Architecture in 2003.[135]
Proposals included the demolition of thePlymouth Pavilionsentertainment arena to create a canal "boulevard" linkingMillbay to the city centre delivered in 2020. Millbay is being regenerated with mixed residential, retail and office space alongside the ferry port.[136]
Plymouth's Civic Centre was vacated by Plymouth City Council, and their operations were dispersed across the city centre—the vacant and dilapidated modernist building was proposed for demolition by the Council but was ultimately saved by a listing in 2007[137] for its national architectural merit and was gifted to the developersUrban Splash, who intend to refurbish the structure for a mixed-use regeneration including variable let accommodation.[138] The removal and relocation ofBretonside bus station—a site originally earmarked for the Council[139]—was ultimately released for a mixed-use commercial leisure redevelopment including cinema and restaurants named 'Barcode' owned byBritish Land which also owns the adjacent Drake's Circus.[140]
Jacka Bakery in the Barbican district is reputedly the oldest bakery in the UK,[141] and has operated since the 1600s.
Smaller stations in the suburban area west of the city centre are served by trains on theTamar Valley Line to Gunnislake and local services on theCornish Main Line, which crosses the Tamar on theRoyal Albert Bridge. This was designed byBrunel and opened in 1859. The parallel road bridge was completed in 1961.
The station opened on its present site in 1877 and was previously namedPlymouth North Road, when there were other main line stations in the city atMillbay andFriary; these have since closed.
There have been proposals to reopen theExeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR which would connectCornwall and Plymouth to Exeter using the formerSouthern Railway main line from Plymouth to Exeter viaOkehampton, because the main line through South Devon is vulnerable to damage from rough seas atDawlish, where some of the cliffs are also fragile. There are related proposals to reopen part of the old main line from Bere Alston on thePlymouth-Gunnislake line as far as Tavistock to serve a new housing development but, although the idea has been discussed since 2008, progress has been slow.
TheA38 dual-carriageway runs from east to west across the north of the city; within the city, it is known as 'TheParkway' and represents the boundary between the older parts of the city and more recently developed suburban areas. Heading east, it connects Plymouth to theM5 motorway, about 40 miles (65 km) away nearExeter; heading west, it connects Devon with Cornwall via theTamar Bridge.
The city's airport wasPlymouth City Airport about 4 miles (6 km) north of the city centre.[151]The airport was home to the local airlineAir Southwest,[152]which operated flights across the United Kingdom and Ireland.[153] In June 2003, a report by theSouth West RDA was published looking at the future of aviation in the south-west and the possible closure of airports.[154] It concluded that the best option for the south-west was to close Plymouth City Airport and expandExeter International Airport andNewquay Cornwall Airport, although it did conclude that this was not the best option for Plymouth.[155] In April 2011, it was announced that the airport would close,[156] which it did on 23 December. A local company, FlyPlymouth, put forward plans in 2015 to reopen the airport by 2018, providing daily services to various destinations including London, but as of now, these projects have stalled.[157]
Plymouth is at the southern end of the 99-mile (159 km) longDevon Coast to Coast Cycle Route (National Cycle Route 27). The route runs mostly traffic-free on off-road sections between Ilfracombe and Plymouth. The route uses former railway lines, though there are some stretches on public roads.[158]
Plymouth has about 150 churches city-wide. ThePlymouth Cathedral is Roman Catholic, and is located inStonehouse. It was opened in 1858, and consecrated in 1880.[159][160] The city's oldest church isPlymouth Minster, also known as St Andrew's Church, (Anglican) located at the top of Royal Parade—it is the largest parish church inDevon and has been a site of gathering since AD 800.[159] The city also includes fiveBaptist churches, over twentyMethodist chapels, and thirteenRoman Catholic churches.[161] In 1831 the firstBrethren assembly in England, a movement of conservative non-denominational Evangelical Christians, was established in the city, so that Brethren are often called Plymouth Brethren, although the movement did not begin locally.[162]
42.5% of the population described themselves in the 2021 census return as being at least nominally Christian and 1.3% as Muslim with all other religions represented by less than 0.5% each. The portion of people without a religion is 48.9%, 5.9% did not state their religious belief.[165] Since the 2001 Census, the number of Christians and Jews has decreased (−16% and −7% respectively), while all other religions have increased and non-religious people have almost doubled in number.[166]
Built in 1815,Union Street was at the heart of Plymouth's historical culture.[167] It became known asthe servicemen's playground, as it was where sailors from the Royal Navy would seek entertainment of all kinds.[167] During the 1930s, there were 30 pubs and it attracted such performers asCharlie Chaplin to theNew Palace Theatre.[167] It was described in 2008 as the late-night hub of Plymouth's entertainment strip.[168]
Outdoor events and festivals are held including the annualBritish Firework Championships in August, which attracts tens of thousands of people across the waterfront.[169] In August 2006 the world record for the most simultaneous fireworks was surpassed, by Roy Lowry of theUniversity of Plymouth, overPlymouth Sound.[170] From 2014 MTV Crashes Plymouth has taken place every July on Plymouth Hoe, hosting big-name acts such as The 1975, Little Mix, Tinie Tempah and Busted.[171] Between 1992 and 2012 the Music of the Night celebration was performed in theRoyal Citadel by the29 Commando Regiment and local performers to raise money for local and military charities.[172] A number of other smaller cultural events taken place annually, including Plymouth Art Weekender,[173] Plymouth Fringe Festival[174] and Illuminate Festival.[175]
The city's main theatre isTheatre Royal Plymouth, presenting large-scale West End shows and smaller works as well as an extensive education and outreach programme. The main building is located in the city centre and contains three performance spaces – The Lyric (1,315 capacity),[176] Drum Theatre (200 capacity),[177] and The Lab (60 capacity) – and they also run their own specialised production and creative learning centre called TR2, based in Cattedown.[178]Plymouth Pavilions has multiple uses for the city staging music concerts, basketball matches and stand-up comedy.[179] There are also three cinemas: Reel Cinema at Derrys Cross,Plymouth Arts Centre at Looe Street and aVue cinema at the Barbican Leisure Park.[180] Barbican Theatre, Plymouth delivers a theatre and dance programme of performances and workshops focused on young people and emerging artists contains a main auditorium (110 – 140 capacity) and rehearsal studio;[181] they also host the B-Bar (80 capacity), which offers a programme of music, comedy and spoken word performance.[182]The Plymouth Athenaeum, which includes a local interest library, is a society dedicated to the promotion of learning in the fields of science, technology, literature and art. In 2017 its auditorium (340 capacity) returned to use as a theatre, having been out of service since 2009.[183] ThePlymouth City Museum and Art Gallery is operated by Plymouth City Council allowing free admission – it has six galleries.[184]
Plymouth is an important centre for watersports, especially scuba diving and sailing. The Port of Plymouth Regatta is one of the oldest regattas in the world, and has been held regularly since 1823. In September 2011, Plymouth hosted theAmerica's Cup World Series for nine days.[192]
Since 1973 Plymouth has been supplied water bySouth West Water. Prior to the 1973 take over it was supplied by Plymouth County Borough Corporation.[193] Before the 19th century twoleats were built to provide drinking water for the town. They carried water fromDartmoor to Plymouth. A watercourse, known as Plymouth orDrake's Leat, was opened on 24 April 1591 to tap theRiver Meavy.[194] TheDevonport Leat was constructed to carry fresh drinking water to the expanding town ofDevonport and its ever-growing dockyard. It was fed by three Dartmoor rivers: TheWest Dart, Cowsic and Blackabrook. It seems to have been carrying water since 1797, but it was officially completed in 1801. It was originally designed to carry water to Devonport town but has since been shortened and now carries water toBurrator Reservoir, which feeds most of the water supply of Plymouth.[195] Burrator Reservoir is located about 5 miles (8 km) north of the city and was constructed in 1898 and expanded in 1928.[196]
Plymouth is served by Plymouth HospitalsNHS Trust and the city'sNHS hospital isDerriford Hospital 4 miles (6 km) north of the city centre. The Royal Eye Infirmary is located at Derriford Hospital.[208]South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust operates in Plymouth and the rest of the south west; its headquarters are inExeter.[209]
The mid-19th-century burial ground atFord Park Cemetery was reopened in 2007 by a successful trust and the City council operate two large early 20th century cemeteries atWeston Mill andEfford both with crematoria and chapels. There is also a privately owned cemetery on the outskirts of the city, Drake Memorial Park which does not allow headstones to mark graves, but a brass plaque set into the ground.[210]
Grade I listed Town Hall, Column and Library in DevonportElliot Terrace, Plymouth Hoe
After theEnglish Civil War theRoyal Citadel was erected in 1666 towards the eastern section ofPlymouth Hoe, to defend the port from naval attacks, suppress Plymothian Parliamentary leanings and to train the armed forces. Currently, guided tours are available in the summer months.[28] Further west isSmeaton's Tower, which is a standard lighthouse that was constructed in 1759. 14 miles (23 km) Furthermore, Smeaton's Tower was dismantled in 1877 and the top two-thirds were reassembled on Plymouth Hoe.[211] It is open to the public and has views over the Plymouth Sound and the city from the lantern room.[212] Plymouth has 20 war memorials of which nine are onThe Hoe including:Plymouth Naval Memorial, to remember those killed in World Wars I and II, and theArmada Memorial, to commemorate the defeat of theSpanish Armada.[213]
The early port settlement of Plymouth, called "Sutton", approximates to the area now referred to as theBarbican and has 100listed buildings and the largest concentration ofcobbled streets in Britain.[214] ThePilgrim Fathers left for theNew World in 1620 near the commemorativeMayflower Steps in Sutton Pool.[215] Also on Sutton Pool is theNational Marine Aquarium which displays 400 marine species and includes Britain's deepest aquarium tank.[216]
To the west of the city isDevonport, one of Plymouth's historic quarters. As part of Devonport's millennium regeneration project, theDevonport Heritage Trail has been introduced, complete with over 70 waymarkers outlining the route.[219]
Beckley Point, at 78m / 20 floors, is Plymouth's tallest building[223][224] and was completed on 8 February 2018. It was designed by Boyes Rees Architects and built by contractorsKier.
People from Plymouth are known as Plymothians or less formally asJanners.[225] Its meaning is described as a person fromDevon, deriving from Cousin Jan (theDevon form ofJohn), but more particularly innaval circles anyone from the Plymouth area.[226]
The Elizabethan navigator, SirFrancis Drake was born in the nearby town ofTavistock and was the mayor of Plymouth.[227] He was the firstEnglishman to circumnavigate the world and was known by the Spanish asEl Draco meaning "The Dragon" after he raided many of their ships.[228] He died ofdysentery in 1596 off the coast ofPortobelo,[229] Panama. In 2002 a mission to recover his body and bring it to Plymouth was allowed by theMinistry of Defence.[230] His cousin and contemporaryJohn Hawkins was a Plymouth man.
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