Timeline of Plymouth

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Plymouth, Devon, England.

Prior to 17th century

• 1086 – The Domesday Book records Plymouth as Sudtone (Sutton) and records only 7 households and a total annual revenue of £1. The lord of the manor before 1066 had been Edward the Confessor.^[1]
• 1254 – Town status recognised.^[2]
• 1276 – Plymouth first recorded as a borough.^[3]
• 1291 – St. Andrew church built.^[4]
• 1292 – Returned first members to parliament.^[5]
• 1371 – Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe licensed.
• early 15th C. – Plymouth Castle built.
• 1403 – Town burned by Bretons.^[6]
• 1404 – Town wall constructed.^[7]
• 1431 – Dominican monastery built.^{[citation needed]}
• 1439
  • Town granted charter by Parliament.^[2][5]
  • Market and fair active.^[8]
• 1532 – Birth of Sir John Hawkins naval commander.
• 1542 – Antiquary John Leland visits and records "The towne of Plymmouth is very large."^[9]
• 1572 – Grammar school founded.^[10]
• 1577 – Francis Drake's circumnavigation began in Plymouth.^[5]
• 1579 – Plague.^[10]
• 1580 – 26 September: Francis Drake's ship Golden Hind returns to Plymouth at the conclusion of his circumnavigation which began in 1577.^[11]
• 1581 – Plague.^[10]
• 1588 – 19 July: Fifty-five English ships sail from Plymouth under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake to fight the Spanish Armada. The fleets first engage on 21 July off the Eddystone Rocks.
• 1591 – 24 April: Drake's Leat first brings fresh water to Plymouth from Dartmoor.^[12]

17th–18th centuries

• 1620 – 6 September: Mayflower ship departs for New England,^[6] arriving in November.
• 1644 – The Siege of Plymouth by Royalist forces under Sir Richard Grenville in the English Civil War.
• 1652 – 26 August: Battle of Plymouth occurs offshore in the First Anglo-Dutch War.
• 1657 – Charles Church built.^[5]
• 1658 – Post house established.^[13]
• 1670 – Citadel built on the Hoe.^[2][5]
• 1671 – Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe rebuilt (approximate date).
• 1690 – 30 December: Work starts on construction of the Royal Dockyard at Devonport.^[2][14]
• 1694 – 3 April: First new ships launched from the Royal Dockyard: advice boats Postboy and Messenger; the first warship is launched in 1696, fifth-rate HMS Looe.^[15]
• 1696 – Work starts on Henry Winstanley's first Eddystone Lighthouse, 12 miles (19 km) off Plymouth Sound.
• 1718 – Plymouth Weekly Journal in publication.^[16]
• 1758
  • Theatre built.
  • Plymouth and Portsmouth Fortifications Act 1758 (32 Geo. 2. c. 30) passed by Parliament.
• 1759 – Smeaton's Tower completed as the third Eddystone Lighthouse.
• 1762 – Plymouth Synagogue built.
• 1768 – Cookworthy's porcelain factory established.^[17]
• 1770 – Plymouth Improvement Act 1770 (10 Geo. 3. c. 14) passed by Parliament.
• 1773 – Stonehouse Bridge constructed.^[13]
• 1781 – Plymouth (Poor Relief, etc.) Act 1781 (21 Geo. 3. c. 72) passed by Parliament.
• 1790 – New Pier constructed at Sutton Pool.^[18]
• 1793 – Plymouth Gin first produced at the Plymouth Gin Distillery.^[19]
• 1798 – 3 April: HMS Pallas wrecked offshore.^[20]
• 1800 – Guildhall built.^[21]

19th century

• 1808 – Plymouth Gazette begins publication.^[22]
• 1810 – Plymouth Proprietary Library founded.^[23]
• 1811 – Theatre/Hotel building constructed.^[21]
• 1812
  • Plymouth Institution (now The Plymouth Athenaeum) founded.^[24][25]
  • Plymouth Breakwater construction begins.^[26]
• 1813
  • Port of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce established.^[13]
  • Exchange building constructed.^[21]
• 1815 – 26 July: Napoleon Bonaparte enters Plymouth Sound aboard HMS Bellerophon, awaiting transportation to exile in Saint Helena.
• 1819 – The Plymouth Athenaeum building designed by John Foulston opens.^[27]
• 1820 – Plymouth Herald and Plymouth Journal newspapers begin publication.^[28]
• 1823 – 26 September: Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (horse-worked) opened for granite traffic to Sutton Pool.
• 1826 – Plymouth Mechanics' Institute founded.^[21]
• 1828
  • Royal Union Baths built.^[21]
  • Plymouth, Devonport, and Cornwall Races begin.^[21]
• 1829
  • Museum of the Plymouth Institution built.^[24]
  • Blue Friars (club) founded.^[29]

The Basin and the Melville Block at Royal William Victualling Yard

• 1831
  • Plymouth and Devonport Spring Races begin.^[21]
  • December: First meeting in England at Plymouth of the evangelical Christian movement which becomes known as the Plymouth Brethren.^[30]
• 1832 – Plymouth Times newspaper begins publication.^[28]
• 1835 – Royal William Victualling Yard construction completed.^[5]
• 1841 – Plymouth Breakwater constructed.^[5]
• 1844 – Lighthouse commissioned on Plymouth Breakwater.
• 1848 – 5 May: South Devon Railway opens to Plymouth.^[6]
• 1851
  • 25 July: First Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth consecrated.
  • Plymouth Institution (later The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society.^[31]
• 1856
  • Plymouth Drawing School founded.
  • St Boniface's Catholic College founded.
• 1858 – 25 March: Plymouth Cathedral (Roman Catholic) opened.^[5]
• 1859 – 3 May: Royal Albert Bridge opens linking Plymouth by rail to Saltash.
• 1860 – Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommends a huge programme of fortifications for Plymouth, with a projected cost of £3,020,000.^[32]
• 1862 – Plymouth Lifeboat Station in operation.^[33]
• 1863 – St. Boniface Boys' Catholic School active.
• 1865
  • Plymouth Breakwater Fort built.
  • Duke of Cornwall Hotel in business.
• 1871 – Agaton Fort built.
• 1874 – Guildhall built.^[5]
• 1877
  • Plymouth College founded as a boys' school.^[5]
  • Plymouth railway station opened.
• 1880 – Plymouth Cathedral consecrated.^[5]
• 1882 – Smeaton's Tower is dismantled at the Eddystone for re-erection on Plymouth Hoe as a memorial.
• 1886 – 16 October: Argyle F.C. play their first match.
• 1889 – Grand Theatre opens.^[34]
• 1895 – 22 April: Western Evening Herald newspaper begins publication.^[35]
• 1898
  • 5 September: New Palace Theatre of Varieties opens.^[34]
  • 21 September: Burrator Reservoir opens to supply fresh water to Plymouth from Dartmoor.^[36]
• 1899 – Plymouth Institution (later The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Plymouth Mechanics' Institute.^[31]

20th century

• 1910 – Population: 126,266.^[5]
• 1914 – Plymouth, Devonport and East Stonehouse merge to form the County Borough of Plymouth.^[6]
• 1928 – Plymouth attains city status.^[2]
• 1929 – Old Plymouth Society founded.^[37]
• 1933 – Western Fascist newspaper begins publication.^[38]
• 1934 – Mayflower Steps monument erected.^[2]
• 1935
  • Tinside Pool (swimming pool) opens.
  • Lord Mayor appointed.^[2]
• 1940 – Plymouth Blitz:
  • 6 July: Aerial bombing by German forces begins.
  • 27 November: Bombing starts an oil storage depot fire at Turnchapel which burns for 5 days.
• 1941 – Plymouth Blitz:
  • 15 March: Bombing in which 336 people lose their lives.^[39]
  • 20 March: A royal visit is followed by a sustained period of bombing.^[6]
• 1944
  • May: Plymouth Blitz: Aerial bombing by German forces ends: about 1,000 people have been killed, 5,000 injured, 10,000 houses destroyed and 70,000 more damaged.^[3]
  • 4 June: United States forces embarked at Saltash Passage, Cattedown, Turnchapel and other Plymouth hards set sail for the Normandy landings.
• 1945 – 29 September: Last trams in Plymouth run.
• 1958 – 5 April: Drake Cinema opens.^[34]
• 1961
  • 29 April: Westward Television begins broadcasting.
  • The Plymouth Athenaeum reopens after destruction of original building in Blitz.^[40]
• 1967
  • 1 April: Plympton and Plymstock become part of city.^[2]
  • 28 May: Sir Francis Chichester arrives back in Plymouth on his yacht, Gypsy Moth IV, after completing his single-handed voyage around the world.^[41]
• 1968 – 8 August: Royal Navy Leander-class frigate HMS Scylla is launched at HMNB Devonport, the last ship to be built in a Royal Dockyard.
• 1971
  • Mayflower Centre (sport facility) built.
  • Plymouth College of Further Education, the future City College, building erected in Devonport.
• 1975 – 19 May: Plymouth Sound (radio) begins broadcasting.
• 1982
  • 1 January: Television South West begins broadcasting.
  • St Boniface Arena opens.
• 1986 – Plymouth Citybus begins operating under this identity.
• 1991 – Plymouth Pavilions (sport facility) opens.
• 1992 – University of Plymouth chartered.^[6]
• 1994 – Marsh Mills Retail Park opens, including stores such as Sainsbury's and Homebase.
• 1998 – National Marine Aquarium opens.
• 1999 – Vue cinema opens.^[34]

21st century

• 2006 – Drake Circus Shopping Centre in business.
• 2009 – The Plymouth Athenaeum's theatre closes.^[42]
• 2010 – Radio Plymouth begins broadcasting.
• 2011 - closure of Plymouth city airport
• 2012 – The Plymouth Athenaeum celebrates bicentenary.^[43]
• 2015 – Waste incinerator (combined heat and power facility) built on former Dockyard land.^[44]
• 2017 – Beckley Point is completed.
• 2021 – Mass shooting occurs in the Keyham area of the city, killing six, including the gunman, and injuring two others.^[45]

See also

• History of Plymouth
• Timelines of other cities in South West England: Bath, Bristol, Exeter

References

1. Palmer, J N N. "Open Domesday – Place: Sutton". opendomesday.org. Powell-Smith, Anna. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
2. "Brief History of Plymouth". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
3. "Plymouth". devon.gov.uk. Devon County Council. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
4. John Thomson (1845), "Plymouth", New Universal Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary, London: H.G. Bohn
5. de Watteville, Hermann Gaston (1911). "Plymouth (England)" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 861–863.
6. Devon Library and Information Services. "Devon Timeline". Devon County Council. Retrieved 7 September 2013.^{[dead link]}
7. "Local History". Plymouth City Council. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
8. Samantha Letters (2005), "Devon", Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516, Institute of Historical Research, Centre for Metropolitan History
9. Smith, Lucy Toulmin (editor) 1907, The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543, George Bell and Sons, London (p. 212)
10. George Henry Townsend (1867), "Plymouth", A Manual of Dates (2nd ed.), London: Frederick Warne & Co.
11. "Tudors". British History Timeline. BBC. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
12. Moseley, Brian (January 2013). "Water Supply to Plymouth". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
13. R.N. Worth (1890). History of Plymouth from the Earliest Period to the Present Time (2nd ed.). Plymouth: W. Brendon & Son.
14. "Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport". United Kingdom: Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
15. Burns, K. V. (1972). Plymouth's Ships of War: a history of naval vessels built in Plymouth between 1694 and 1860. Maritime monographs and reports, no. 4. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum. p. 13.
16. "Plymouth (England) Newspapers". Main Catalogue. British Library. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
17. Worth, R. N. (1876). "William Cookworthy and the Plymouth China Factory". Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art. 8. Plymouth: W. Brendon & Son. hdl:2027/nyp.33433071365633.
18. "Plymouth Town". Plymouth-Dock Guide. Plymouth-Dock: E. Hoxland. 1796.
19. Williams, Olivia (2014). Gin Glorious Gin. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 313. ISBN 978-1-4722-1534-5.
20. William Toone (1835). Chronological Historian ... of Great Britain (2nd ed.). London: J. Dowding.
21. H.E. Carrington (1837), Plymouth and Devonport Guide (4th ed.), Devonport: W. Byers, OL 25485351M
22. "Catalogue of Works Relating to Devon and Cornwall", South Devon Literary Chronicle, Plymouth: R. Lidstone, 1847 + part 2, part 3
23. "Directory". UK: Association of Independent Libraries. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
24. Transactions of the Plymouth Institution, Plymouth: Rowe, 1830
25. "About Us". Plymouth Athenaeum. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
26. George Granville (1825). Companion to the Plymouth and Devonport National Breakwater. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green.
27. Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England) by Nikolaus Pevsner (Author), Bridget Cherry (Author, Editor) Cherry & Pevsner 1989, p.664.
28. "Plymouth". Newspaper Press Directory. London: Charles Mitchell. 1847.
29. W.H.K. Wright (1889). The Blue Friars. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co.
30. Burnham, Jonathan D. (2004). "The Emergence of the Plymouth Brethren". A Story of Conflict: The Controversial Relationship Between Benjamin Wills Newton and John Nelson Darby. Carlisle: Paternoster Press. ISBN 978-1-84227-191-9. OCLC 56336926.
31. The Plymouth Athenaeum 1812 – 2012, Athenaeum Publishing 2012
32. Hogg, Ian V (1974), Coast Defences of England and Wales, 1856-1956. David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153635-3-9 p. 23.
33. "Station History". Plymouth Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
34. "Movie Theaters in Plymouth, England". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
35. "Plymouth", Willing's Press Guide, London: James Willing, Jr., 1907
36. Moseley, Brian (February 2011). "Burrator Reservoir". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
37. "History of the Society". Old Plymouth Society. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
38. Ian Maxted (2001), "The alternative press in Devon", A history of the book in Devon, Exeter Working Papers in British Book Trade History
39. Moseley, Brian (11 August 2007). "The Plymouth Blitz – The March Raids". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Archived from the original on 16 September 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
40. "Athenaeum, Plymouth – Theatre Tickets, whats on and theatre information". Theatresonline.com. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
41. "1967: Sir Francis Chichester sails home". BBC. 28 May 1967. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
42. "Days left for Plymouth Athenaeum Theatre". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
43. "History of city centre venue is published". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
44. Boxall, Hannah (2 January 2016). "Controversial Plymouth Incinerator Hits Full Operation". resource. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
45. "Plymouth shooting: Suspected gunman and five others die". BBC News. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

1800s–1840s

• John Britton; Edward Wedlake Brayley (1803), "Plymouth", Beauties of England and Wales, vol. 4, London: Vernor & Hood
• Henry Woollcombe (1812). Picture of Plymouth. Plymouth: Rees & Curtis. OCLC 504893051.
• George Alexander Cooke (c. 1822). "Plymouth". Topographical and Statistical Description of the County of Devon (3rd ed.). London: Sherwood, Neeley and Jones.
• Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Plymouth", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven, Connecticut: S. Converse
• David Brewster, ed. (1832). "Plymouth". Edinburgh Encyclopædia. Vol. 15. Philadelphia: Joseph and Edward Parker. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t0gt5vw9n.
• George Wightwick (1836), Nettleton's Guide to Plymouth, Stonehouse, Devonport, Plymouth: Edward Nettleton, OL 25479606M
• "Plymouth", Leigh's New Pocket Road-Book of England and Wales (7th ed.), London: Leigh and Son, 1839
• J. Pigot & Co. (c. 1839), "Plymouth", Devonshire, Pigot and Co.'s Pocket Atlas, Topography and Gazetteer of England, London
• Stranger's Hand-Book, to the Western Metropolis; Containing a ... Description of Plymouth, Devonport, Stonehouse, and Neighborhood. Devonport: W. Wood & Son. 1841.
• Samuel Lewis (1848), "Plymouth", Topographical Dictionary of England (7th ed.), London: S. Lewis and Co.

1850s–1890s

• George Samuel Measom (1860), "Plymouth", Official Illustrated Guide to the Bristol and Exeter, North and South Devon, Cornwall, and South Wales Railways, London: Richard Griffin and Co., hdl:2027/wu.89097040505
• Llewellynn Jewitt (1873). History of Plymouth. Simpkin, Marshall and Company.
• "Plymouth", History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including the City of Exeter (2nd ed.), Sheffield: William White, 1878
• John Parker Anderson (1881), "Devonshire: Plymouth", Book of British Topography: a Classified Catalogue of the Topographical Works in the Library of the British Museum Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, London: W. Satchell
• R.N. Worth (1883), "Plymouth", Tourist's Guide to South Devon (3rd ed.), London: Edward Stanford
• R.N. Worth (1883). "Antiquity and Antiquities of Plymouth". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 339. hdl:2027/coo.31924065841102.
• Edward E. Meeres (1886). "Plymouth in the Eighteenth Century, from a Medical Point of View". Western Antiquary, or Notebook for Devon, Cornwall & Somerset. 6. Plymouth.
• Richard Nicholls Worth (1893), Calendar of the Plymouth Municipal Records, Plymouth, OL 7179704M
• "Plymouth", Handbook for Travellers in Devon (11th ed.), London: J. Murray, 1895, hdl:2027/nyp.33433075903538
• "Portsmouth", Great Britain (4th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1897, OCLC 6430424
• Charles Gross (1897). "Plymouth". Bibliography of British Municipal History. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.
• F.M. Williams (1898), Plymouth as a Tourist and Health Resort, Plymouth: J.H. Keys
• "Western Section: Plymouth". Book of Fair Devon. United Devon Association. 1900.
• Henry Francis Whitfeld (1900), Plymouth and Devonport: in times of war and peace, Plymouth: E. Chapple, OL 7050021M

Published in the 20th century

• Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Plymouth, Stonehouse, Devonport, and South-West Devon. Half title:Plymouth and South-West Devon. London: Ward Lock & Co. c. 1901.
• Charles E. Eldred and W.H.K. Wright (1901). Streets of Old Plymouth. Printed by J. H. Keys.
• G.K. Fortescue, ed. (1902). "Plymouth, Devon". Subject Index of the Modern Works Added to the Library of the British Museum in the Years 1881–1900. London: The Trustees. pp. 6 v. hdl:2027/uc1.b5107013.
• A. R. Hope Moncrieff (1902), "Plymouth", Black's Guide to Devonshire (17th ed.), London: A. & C. Black
• J.G. Bartholomew (1904), "Plymouth", Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, London: G. Newnes
• W.H.K. Wright (1909). Story of Plymouth for Young and Old. Exeter: A. Wheaton.
• de Watteville, Hermann Gaston (1911). "Plymouth (England)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). pp. 861–863.
• Bracken C.W., 1931, A History of Plymouth and her Neighbours, Underhill (Plymouth) Ltd.
• A.H. Shorter and E.T. Woodley (1937). "Plymouth, Port and City". Geography. 22.
• "City That Refused to Die", National Geographic, vol. 89, Washington, D.C., 1946 (describes Plymouth)

External links

• "Plymouth Maritime History Timeline". Shipwrecks and History in Plymouth Sound. Plymouth, England: SHIPS Project. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
• "Devon", Historical Directories, UK: University of Leicester, archived from the original on 5 July 2013, retrieved 7 September 2013. Includes digitised directories of Plymouth area, various dates
• Digital Public Library of America. Works related to Plymouth, various dates

50°22′17″N 4°08′32″W / 50.371389°N 4.142222°W / 50.371389; -4.142222