City in Devon, England
Plymouth
Plymouth is the city where the Pilgrims set sail, Drake finished his bowls game, and a gin has been distilled since 1793 – all within a short walk of the Hoe.
Key information
- County
- Devon
- Nation
- England
- Population
- about 265,000, 2021 Census
- Known for
- The Mayflower, Sir Francis Drake, the Royal Navy at Devonport, Plymouth Gin
- What locals are called
- Plymothians
- Famous people
- Sir Francis Drake, Robert Falcon Scott, Captain William Bligh, Michael Foot
- Football clubs
- Plymouth Argyle (the Pilgrims)
About Plymouth
The bowls game that never quite ended
Every Plymouth story begins on the Hoe, the great grassy limestone terrace above the Sound. Legend says that in July 1588, as the Spanish Armada was sighted off the Lizard, Sir Francis Drake was playing bowls here and insisted there was time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards too. Whether or not the tale is exactly true, the city has never let it go. Drake's statue stands on the Hoe facing inland, rather than out to sea, and the story is retold to every schoolchild in the city. The Hoe's views over Plymouth Sound are among the finest in Britain, and the sea is the thread running through everything else here.
Why Plymouth is a Pilgrim city
In September 1620 the Mayflower left Plymouth for the New World carrying the Pilgrims, after bad luck with a sister ship, the Speedwell, forced a stop in the city. The ship's departure point on the Barbican is marked by the Mayflower Steps, and a nearby memorial recalls the voyage. The journey ended at a settlement the colonists named Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts. That's why the American Plymouth is known for its famous rock, while the original gets the better harbour. The 400th anniversary fell in 2020, but COVID-19 disrupted the planned programme, with events cancelled, moved online or postponed until 2021.
A city rebuilt from the rubble
Plymouth was a major naval base, which made it a prime target in the Second World War. The Blitz of March and April 1941 flattened much of the centre, and the old shopping streets were lost. The answer was a bold post-war plan, drawn up by Patrick Abercrombie and city engineer James Paton Watson, with a broad, grid-like centre of wide avenues and a clean sweep towards the Hoe. It is rare for a British city to have such a planned modern heart. Some older fragments survived, notably the Barbican, with its cobbled lanes and Elizabethan buildings, and the ruined Charles Church, left standing as a memorial to civilians killed in the bombing.
Ships, subs and a very big naval yard
Devonport Dockyard is the largest naval base in western Europe and has long shaped the city's economy and character. Royal Navy ships, including Royal Marines and submarine support, are a daily presence. Across the water, the Royal William Yard, a group of Georgian victualling buildings designed by John Rennie and completed in the 1830s, is built mainly from Plymouth limestone with granite dressings. It has been turned into restaurants, flats and studios. The sea also gave Plymouth its explorers. Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition ties lead back here, and Captain Cook's ships also set out from the port.
Gin, lighthouses and other local treasures
Plymouth Gin has been made at the Black Friars Distillery on the Barbican since 1793, in a building that was once a Dominican friary. Navy officers famously took it to sea, and it was the gin of choice in early recipes for the Gibson cocktail. On the Hoe stands Smeaton's Tower, the red-and-white striped top of the third Eddystone Lighthouse, moved here stone by stone after the sea began to undermine its rock. John Smeaton's design, completed in 1759, shaped how lighthouses were built for generations. For a more everyday treat, Plymouth is a great place for seafood, reflecting the city's long fishing tradition, and a proper Devon pasty or cream tea is never far away.
Pilgrims on the pitch
The city's football club, Plymouth Argyle, is nicknamed the Pilgrims in honour of the Mayflower, and plays in green at Home Park. Argyle are one of the best-known clubs in the south west, with a loyal following that stretches well beyond the city's edges. Locals call themselves Plymothians, and the city has produced a lively cast of famous people, from the navigator William Bligh, who was born here, to the politician Michael Foot. He represented Plymouth Devonport in Parliament from 1945 to 1955, Ebbw Vale from 1960 to 1983, and its successor constituency, Blaenau Gwent, from 1983 to 1992. Outside the city, Dartmoor to the north and Cornwall just across the Tamar make Plymouth a gateway between two very different landscapes.
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