Plymouthhistory

World War Two saw the aerial war bring Plymouth into the front line for the first time in its history
as it became the most heavily bombed city for its size in the country. The dockyards were the
inevitable target, but much of Plymouth's history and heritage was destroyed by the less than
precise bombing of the Luftwaffe. What the German bombers missed, keen urban planners in the
1940s and 50s ripped up and reorganised for the sake of a 'modern' city rebuilt in the aftermath of
war. But not all of Plymouth's landmarks and imperial heritage have gone as I hope to explain and
explore below. Her history is long and fascinating and as I said at the outset, her imperial
connections are so strong that they have fundamentally shaped her relationship to the rest of the
World. Personally, it is this history and heritage that haw shaped how I understand and engage
with the wider World; I have a deep love of the sea, for exploration and for engagement with
cultures where-ever they come from in the World. These are traits that are synonymous with the
City of Plymouth and the evidence of which is still around for all to see.
Plymouth, or rather Sutton as it was then called, was a tiny settlement compared to the nearby
town of Plympton. However, the natural harbour was already identified as providing excellent
protection from the prevailing Westerly Winds and its south facing hills made it a good place to
grow crops on those surrounding heights. Additionally, the River Plym had been silting up. This
was largely due to the extraction of tin on Dartmoor around the Cadover Bridge area. This meant
that vessels were finding it more and more difficult to travel to Plympton to pick up or land goods.
Consequently, Plymouth began to supplant its more ancient neighbour and began its rise as an
important port from the thirteenth century onwards.
Plymouth's first mention as a military port was made during the reign of King John at the beginning
of the 13th Century. After John had lost land in Normandy, Plymouth was identified as the main
base of operations for campaigns against France and to the recovery of their ancestral lands. In
many ways, this was England's 'First Empire' - the Empire of the Norman Knights with lands on
both sides of the Channel. In 1295, a national fleet was gathered in Plymouth as King Edward I
prepared to embark on a war to reclaim Gascony for his Crown. Edward stayed at Plympton Priory
which was located on the site of the present day St Mary's Church. The local area was expected
to provide victuals and supplies to the army. In many ways, this expedition was the first of many
military expeditions that would set forth from Plymouth Sound over the following centuries.
Edward, The Black Prince
Plymouth steadily grew in strategic importance as
the Hundred Years War played itself out.
Plymouth was the perfect staging post for many of
the military expeditions and ventures as many of
the lands that the English were fighting for were
located in the South and West of France and were
easier to get to from Plymouth than from ports
further up the Channel. This was illustrated by the
military actions of Edward III's son, the Black
Prince, as he sought to take advantage of his
father's initial successes in the war. He gathered
together an army in Plymouth in 1348 and again
in 1355. He also stayed at Plympton Priory to
coordinate the expeditions. Ultimately, his 1355
expedition culimanted in the overwhelming victory
at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 where he
managed to capture the King of France, Jean II.
Both the Black Prince and Jean II returned to
Plymouth in May of 1357 before travelling
triumphantly to London to imprison and ransom
the French King at the Tower of London. Jean II
was not the last French leader to be brought to
Plymouth as a prisoner!