The British Empire and its effect on Plymouth


Plymouth and its Citadel, 1765


Plymouth was originally a walled town around Sutton Harbour. A Citadel was built in the 17th Century to help defend Plymouth from attack by sea, although many commentators noted that Plymouth had not been particularly loyal to the Crown in the English Civil War and wondered why so many guns faced inward. In actual fact, the Plymouth Dockyards had already started being constructed on the River Tamar as it was felt that the Plym was silting up. The new 'Plymouth Dockyards' would soon be known as Devonport and a separate borough in its own right for many years.


Empire in Your Backyard: Plymouth Article


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by Stephen Luscombe