My novels Ditty Box and Blitz are mainly situated in Plymouth,
Devon. Many of my readers may not know much about Plymouth so I decided
to write a brief article concerning the city of my birth.
Plymouth sits on the Devon side of the border with Cornwall (or Kernow as it’s know in the Cornish language).
It
has always been a port city since the Bronze Age settlement of what is
now known as Mount Batten. The area of Sutton superseded this in the 9th
century and became the start of the modern city Plymouth. Most British
people have heard of Sir Francis Drake who insisted on finishing his
game of bowls before he took the English fleet out to defeat the Spanish
Armada. There is still a bowling green on The Hoe which is purported to
be where he played, but I’m not sure if this is the actual green or
just in the general location. The Mayflower also set out from Plymouth
to take the Pilgrims to the New World (now the United States of
America).
The nearby town of Devonport has always been a place for
the Royal Navy and in 1914 Devonport, Plymouth and East Stonehouse
merged to become the County Borough of Plymouth.
Over the years
Plymouth has grown and is now the second largest city in the area.
Devonport Dockyard which serves the Royal Navy is the largest
operational navy base in Western Europe and still employs a lot of the
work force of Plymouth.
Entering the city from the English Channel a
ship passes around the breakwater and lighthouse. Next ships pass
Drakes Island which over the years has had various uses. The land
looking out over the sea is The Hoe, a place for Plymothians (or Janners
as they are often called. There are many different explanations as to
why they are called by this name). On the Hoe is Smeaton’s Tower which
used to be the Eddystone Lighthouse, until it was replaced and the old
tower resurrected looking over Plymouth Sound.
The River Tamar
separates Devon from Cornwall to the left of The Hoe while to the right
if the Barbican where the fishing industry of Plymouth has been settled
for a long time.
The city centre sits down the hill behind The Hoe.
Most of the area has been built since it was destroyed by the blitz
during World War II, but there have been ongoing updates and renovations
during all the years since then. The city spreads out behind the shops
and buildings of the city centre until it reaches the countryside which
is the beginning of Dartmoor.
This article may not be completely
historically correct, as most of it is from my memories of growing up in
Plymouth and stories from the older members of my family. Hope you
enjoy reading about Plymouth and it helps you to interact more with my
novels.
