About Us
Three towns
Until 1914 there was not one Plymouth, but three towns. Plymouth and Devonport vied with each other in importance. Little Stonehouse nestled in between. It was the Admiralty that insisted that it should be able to deal with one municipality. The towns combined as Plymouth.
Medieval times
The whole area consisted of minor manors, now all absorbed in the City of Plymouth. The important settlement was up the Plym at Plympton, a stannary town from which tin was exported. There also was Plympton Priory & an important castle. Sutton Harbour was the centre that became known as Plymouth. Stonehouse had a manor up on the hill above what is now Victoria Park at the top of the creek & a small fishing village where Princess Yachts now reigns. Devonport did not exist at all.
Tudor period and Civil War.
Stonehouse changed hands several times, being owned at one stage by the Durnford family before the Wars of the Roses. Sensible Sir Richard Edgcumbe chose the right side and was well rewarded in 1485. His descendant, the current Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, still owns great chunks of land either side of the Tamar.
The first fortifications date back to this period. The oldest, probably early or mid-fifteenth century, is the town wall at the head of the peninsula. It was designed to defend against raids from the sea. After all, Bretonside in central Plymouth is named after a successful raid by Breton pirates in that century. Associated with this are seashore outworks, small artillery towers in the Devil’s Point Park still in good condition. One is a posh restaurant now.