Plymouthhistory

Unfortunately, much of this land would not be purchased by the town’s corporation and developed
until the last decades of the century (Ford was developed primarily in the 1880s and Swilly in the
1920s). Therefore in 1861 the population of 50,440 were housed in approximately 5000 buildings
contained within the older town itself and the northern suburb of Morice Town. Like Devonport,
Stonehouse was also geographically contained.
Stonehouse had been home to a small number of the elite and a large population of working
poor for centuries. The nineteenth century was no different, only the numbers were increased. By
1801, a grand set of houses, known as Durnford Street, had been built off Stonehouse’s ancient
central four streets (Chapel, Newport, Edgcumbe and Fore Streets). Another new road off
Durnford, called Emma Place, was also built with a striking town hall at the end of it. Both of these
roads were constructed to house the higher echelons of the navy. But even the paving and lighting
in the new streets were virtually non-existent, and conditions in the older streets were notoriously
poor. Consequently, the peace of 1815 was as harsh to Stonehouse as many unemployed military
personnel simply stayed in the township. The population of the poor increased and workers’
housing was built. Stonehouse experienced Plymouth and Devonport’s dilemma of how to combat
overcrowding. The town was both geographically and municipally hemmed in on all sides and it
quickly began to fill up. By 1841 the population stood at 9,712, with the vast majority of the people,
as well as many of the local Royal Marines and their families, crammed into the poorer housing
that sprang up behind Durnford Street and eastward from High Street.
The growth of Stonehouse between 1815 and 1850 can be attributed not only to migrants and
a poorer economic climate forcing people to stay, but to the extension of Edgcumbe Street and the
construction of the adjoining Union Road, which later became known as Union Street. This artery
joined Plymouth and Devonport, making Stonehouse the central area, bringing many visitors and
much needed commerce to the township. As Stonehouse grew eastwards, Plymouth’s streets
came west to meet it and Devonport’s suburbs would later do the same from the north.
By 1851, the urban area of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport’s combined population
made it the fifth largest provincial district in England. This huge rise in population, can be traced to
a local ambition to join the Three Towns with easier road access and one man’s vision. The
architect John Foulston laid plans for the “New Road” to link Plymouth,Stonehouse and Devonport
through an area only ventured through by the very brave, due to the boggy land of the route and
highwaymen.