Plymouth

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Plymouth
View of Plymouth Hoe Waterfront
Population	246,100 (2005 est.)
OS grid reference	SX475538
Unitary authority	Plymouth
Ceremonial county	Devon
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PLYMOUTH
Postcode district	PL1-9
Dialling code	01752
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Plymouth Sutton
	Plymouth Devonport
	South West Devon
Website: www.plymouth.gov.uk
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Plymouth (ˈplɪməθ (help·info)) is a city and unitary authority in the in Devon, England, about 190 miles (310 km) south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the river Plym and Tamar, where they form the Plymouth Sound. Since 1967 the unitary authority of Plymouth includes the suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock, which are on the other side of the Plym.

Plymouth’s history goes back to the Bronze Age, where its first settlement at Mount Batten grew. It continued to grow as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until the more prosperous settlement of Sutton, the current Plymouth, surpassed it. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World from Plymouth, thereby establishing the modern English-speaking constitution of the United States of America. About 25 years later the town was besieged between 1642 1646, during the English Civil War, by the Parliamentarians. Throughout the Industrial Revolution Plymouth grew as a major shipping industry, including imports and passengers from the USA and the construction of Ships, ranging from small fishing boats to Battleships for the Royal Navy. This later lead to its partial destruction, during World War Two, known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war was over, the City Centre was completely rebuilt.

Today the City is home to nearly 250,000 people, making it the 25th most populous city in England. It has its own city council and is represented nationally by three MPs. Plymouth’s economy is still strongly influenced by shipbuilding, but, has over the past decade, become a more service based economy with the 11th largest University in the United Kingdom. Its naval base, HMNB Devonport is the largest operational naval base in Western Europe.^[1] It has its own airport with national services and international ferry links to France and Spain. Complete with a red light district in Union Street and a 20,000 capacity football team.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 Renaissance Age 1.3 Civil War and Restoration 1.4 Twentieth Century 2 Governance 2.1 Local government history 2.2 City Council 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 4 Demography 5 Economy 5.1 Plymouth 2020 6 Transport 7 Education 8 Religion 9 Sports 10 Culture 11 Public services 12 Notable people 13 References 14 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Plymouth

Plymouth’s name is made up of Old English and Modern English. The name has two parts: Plym and mouth. The name Plym is thought to have its origin as an Old English word for plum tree. Plympton, a suburb of Plymouth, was the first place to use the word Plym in its name. Ton meaning town, which forms the word Plympton meaning Plum Tree Town. At some point between the naming of Plympton and of Plymouth, the river, which flows from Dartmoor into the English Channel at Plymouth, was called the River Plym, as a result of Plympton. The earliest settlement of Plymouth was located right at the edge of the Plym Estuary where the River Plym joins the sea. These areas are commonly referred to as the "Mouth of the river". Combining the two words Plym and mouth produces the word Plymouth meaning literally Plum Tree Mouth or in long form Mouth of the Plum Tree River.^[2]

[edit] Early history

The earliest human remains in the Plymouth area are from a number of caves around Plymouth Sound. The bone caves, located at Cattedown, Oreston, Turnchapel and Stonehouse contain extensive Upper Palaeolithic deposits including those of Homo Sapien, some of the earliest such evidence in England. This is one of the most important discoveries ever documented about the history of "anatomically-modern humans" or Homo sapiens in Europe. There is currently no evidence of Homo neanderthalensis ever having been found in caves at Cattedown, Oreston, Stonehouse or Mount Batten (Turnchapel). ^[3]

The earliest known settlement in the area now occupied by Plymouth is at Mount Batten. It dates from the late Bronze Age, and was later an Iron Age trading port.^[4] As part of the Roman Empire this port traded tin along with cattle and hides, but was later overshadowed by the rise of the fishing village of Sutton opposite, whose name means south town.

In 1403, the town was briefly occupied and burned by Bretons. The town was often the target of enemies across the English Channel, especially during the Hundred Years' War. A series of fortifications were built in the Tudor and Elizabethan era which include the four round towers featured on the city coat of arms; the remains of two of these can still be found at Mount Batten and at Sutton Pool below the Royal Citadel.

[edit] Renaissance Age

During the 16th century, Plymouth was the home port for a number of successful maritime traders, among them William Hawkins, who made the first English expeditions to West Africa in the 1530s; and his son Sir John Hawkins, who led England's first foray into the slave trade.^[5] Plymouth Hoe, meaning high place, is a wide grass meadow atop cliffs overlooking the natural harbour of Plymouth Sound. According to an enduring national myth, this is the place where Sir Francis Drake insisted on completing his game of bowls to allow wind and tide to change in his favour enabling his defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World from Plymouth, thereby establishing the modern English-speaking constitution of the United States of America. On sighting land, they christened their first point of contact on the western Atlantic shore Plymouth Rock in gratitude for the hospitality they had received whilst wintering in Plymouth. Their settlement of Plymouth, Massachusetts also bears the name of its European forebear. Twin flags of the US and UK now fly at the Mayflower Steps to commemorate the significance of this event to both nations.

[edit] Civil War and Restoration

During the English Civil War Plymouth sided with the Parliamentarians and so was isolated from the surrounding regions of Devon and Cornwall which were held by Royalist sympathisers. The town was besieged for almost four years until the Royalists were defeated. Various skirmishes and confrontations occurred, including the battle of St Budeaux and the rout of Royalist cavalry along Lipson Ridge. Freedom Fields Park still commemorates the latter site. Construction of the Royal Citadel began in 1665, after the Restoration; it was armed with cannon facing both out to sea and into the town, rumoured to be a reminder to residents not to oppose the Crown.

After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was brought to Plymouth aboard HMS Bellerophon which remained in Plymouth Sound for two weeks before his exile to St Helena. The Three Towns enjoyed some prosperity during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and were enriched by a series of neo-classical urban developments designed by London architect John Foulston.^[6] Foulston was important for the town and was responsible for several grand public buildings, many now destroyed, including the Athenaeum, the Theatre Royal and Royal Hotel, and much of Union Street.^[6]

[edit] Twentieth Century

Until World War II, the port at Millbay Docks was used for Transatlantic liner shipping, as it had been since the 1870s. Many of the surviving crew of the RMS Titanic disaster disembarked at Millbay docks on their return to England in 1912.^[7] Due to its strategic proximity to the northern coast of France and its naval preeminence, the city was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, which is known as the Plymouth Blitz. Although the dockyards were the principal targets, the two main shopping centres, most of the civic buildings and over 3,700 houses were completely destroyed and more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives.^[8] Charles Church has been left in its ruined state as a memorial to those civilians who died and on the Hoe stands a memorial to the many members of the Royal Navy from Plymouth who were killed in both World Wars.^[9] In June 1944 Plymouth was one of the principal staging posts for the Normandy landings. General Omar Bradley and the 1st US Army embarked here for the landings at Omaha Beach and Utah Beach and after the initial bombardments some of the American battleships came to the dockyard for repair.^[8]

In 1943 Sir Patrick Abercrombie's published his Plan for Plymouth in response to the devastation inflicted upon the city. Its wide-ranging vision called for the destruction of the few remaining pre-War buildings in the city centre and the replacement of modern buildings and a completely new layout.^[10] By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, more than 13,500 of them permanent council homes and 853 built by the Admiralty. Despite all this building, in 1971 over ten percent of the houses in Plymouth were still occupied by more than one family.^[11]

Devonport Dockyard was kept busy for many years refitting aircraft carriers such as the Ark Royal. By the time this work ended in the late 1970s the nuclear submarine base was operational. In the 1950s a new Royal Navy Engineering College was built at Manadon, and HMS Raleigh, the current basic training facility of the Royal Navy, was opened west of Torpoint. The army had substantially left the city by 1971, with Raglan Barracks and Plumer Barracks pulled down in the 1960s.^[11] However the Royal Citadel has been home to 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery since 1962,^[11] and 42 Commando Royal Marines has been based at Bickleigh Barracks, a few miles outside Plymouth, since 1971.

[edit] Governance

[edit] Local government history

In 1914 the county boroughs of Plymouth and Devonport, and the urban district of East Stonehouse merged to form a single county borough of Plymouth. This was supported by the War Office, who were concerned that having three different local councils would complicate matters in time of war. Collectively they were referred to as "The Three Towns".^[12] A provisional order was made on 2nd May, 1914, to come into effect in November.^[13] In 1928, Plymouth was granted city status.^[14] The city's boundaries were extended in the mid-1930s and further expanded in 1967 to include the town of Plympton and the parish of Plymstock.

Plymouth lobbied for further boundary extensions throughout the post-war period, proposing to annex Saltash and Torpoint on the other side of the Tamar to the Local Government Boundary Commission. The 1971 Local Government White Paper proposed abolishing county boroughs, which would have left Plymouth, a town of 250,000 people, being administered from a council based at the smaller Exeter, on the other side of the county. This led to Plymouth lobbying for the creation of a Tamarside county, to include Plymouth, Torpoint, Saltash, and the rural hinterland. The campaign was not successful, and Plymouth ceased to be a county borough on 1 April 1974 with responsibility for education, social services, highways and libraries transferred to Devon County Council. All powers returned when the city become a unitary authority on 1 April 1998 under recommendations of the Banham Commission.

[edit] City Council

The City of Plymouth is divided into 20 wards, 17 of which elect three councillors and the other three electing two councillors, making up a total council of 57.^[15] Councillors are also known as Members of the Council and usually stand for election as members of national political parties. Full local elections are held every four years with elections for one third of Council seats being held each intervening year; the total electorate for Plymouth was 184,956 in December 2003. The local election of May 2006 resulted in a political composition of 26 Labour and 31 Conservative councillors.

Council sessions have a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, who are entitled Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor respectively. The Lord Mayor also has a ceremonial role and historical regalia. The Leader of the Council has day to day power which is exercised as Chairman of the Cabinet and there is a leader of each political group. The Civic Centre municipal office building in Armada Way became a listed building in June 2007 because of its quality and period features,^[16] but has become the centre of a controversy as the council disagrees.^[17] In September 2007 the city council announced its application to demolish the site.

The Lord Mayor is elected annually in May;^[18] as at May 2008 Brian Vincent holds the position for the Conservative Party.^[19] The dignity of Lord Mayor was granted in 1935, previously the office was simply Mayor – there have been over 540 holders of the office since its establishment in 1439. The Lord Mayor's official residence is 3 Elliot Terrace, located on the Hoe. Once a home of Waldorf and Nancy Astor, it was given by Lady Astor to the City of Plymouth as an official residence for future Lord Mayors and is also used today for civic hospitality, as lodgings for visiting dignitaries and High Court judges.^[20]

In Parliament, Plymouth is represented by the three constituencies of Plymouth Devonport, Plymouth Sutton and Southwest Devon. As of the 2005 General Election the two former constituencies are held by Labour MPs Alison Seabeck and Linda Gilroy respectively with the latter held by Conservative MP Gary Streeter. The city is part of South West England and Gibraltar in the European parliament.

Plymouth City Council is formally twinned with:^[21]

• Brest, Brittany, France (twinned 1963)
• Gdynia, Pomeranian Province, Poland (twinned 1976)
• Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia (twinned 1990)
• San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain (twinned 1990)
• Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (twinned 2001)

The city also maintains a link with:

• Sekondi-Takoradi, Western Region, Ghana

and has educational and economic links with:

• Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China (since 2006)

[edit] Geography

See also: Places in Plymouth

Climate chart for Plymouth[22]
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
114   9 3	92   8 3	87   10 4	59   12 6	61   15 8	57   18 11	55   20 13	69   19 13	76   18 11	95   15 9	101   11 6	116   10 4
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.5   47 38     3.6   47 38     3.4   50 39     2.3   54 42     2.4   59 47     2.2   64 52     2.2   67 55     2.7   67 55     3   64 52     3.7   58 49     4   52 42     4.6   49 40 temperatures in °F • precipitation totals in inches

Plymouth lies between the River Plym to the east and the River Tamar to the west; both rivers flow into the natural harbour of Plymouth Sound. The River Tamar forms the county boundary between Devon and Cornwall and its estuary forms the Hamoaze on which is sited Devonport Dockyard. Plymouth Sound is protected from the sea by the Plymouth Breakwater, built in 1812. In the Sound is Drake's Island which is easily seen from Plymouth Hoe, a large public area on top of low limestone cliffs.

The River Plym which flows off Dartmoor to the north east forms a smaller estuary to the east of the city; the mouth of this estuary is called Cattewater. On its south bank lies the outcrop of Mount Batten, the earliest-known settlement in the area; and on its north bank was the manor of Sutton which grew to form the present day city.

Plymouth is home to Plymouth Marine Laboratory, an independent collaborative centre, who study the area for scientific research. They study the marine ecosystems in and near Plymouth to provide future solutions for marine existnction across the United Kingdom.

In 1945 Sir Patrick Abercrombie's 1943 Plan for Plymouth was published to rebuild the city. It called for the destruction of the few remaining pre-War buildings in the city centre and their replacement with wide, modern boulevards aligned east-west linked by a grand north-south avenue (Armada Way) linking the railway station with Plymouth Hoe.^[23] The Plan had to deal not only with the effects of the War, but also the pre-war defects of the city: much of the housing and many narrow streets were overcrowded. The main concern was for housing, and many prefabs were built by 1946, followed by over a thousand permanent council houses built each year from 1951–1957. By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, more than 13,500 of them permanent council homes and 853 built by the Admiralty. To compensate for the large scale of housing Plymouth has a number of public parks, the largest of which is Central Park. Other sizeable green spaces include Victoria Park, Freedom Fields Park, Alexandra Park, and significantly, the Hoe.

Pre 19th century two leats were built in order to provide drinking water for the town. They carried water from Dartmoor all the way down to Plymouth. Drake's Leat also known as Plymouth Leat, was a watercourse constructed to tap the River Meavy. It was one of the first municipal water supplies in the country. The Devonport Leat was constructed in the 1790s to carry fresh drinking water to the expanding dockyards at Devonport. It is fed by three Dartmoor rivers: The West Dart, The Cowsic and The Blackabrook. It was originally designed to carry water all the way to Devonport Dockyard but has since been shortened and now carries water to Burrator Reservoir which feeds most of the water supply of Plymouth. Dartmoor granite was used to construct the water channel, as well as a small aqueduct and a tunnel.

[edit] Climate

Along with the rest of South West England, Plymouth has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England. The annual mean temperature is approximately 11 °C (52 °F) and shows a seasonal and a diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK.^[24] February is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 3 °C (37 °F) and 4 °C (39 °F). July and August are the warmest months with mean daily maxima over 19 °C (66 °F).^[22]

South West England has a favoured location with respect to the Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Coastal areas have average annual sunshine totals over 1,600 hours.^[24]

Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average annual rainfall is around 980 millimetres (39 in). The number of days with snow falling is typically less than ten per winter. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.^[24]

[edit] Demography

In 2005, Plymouth's population was estimated at 246,100 by Plymouth City Council^[25] The average household size is 2.3 persons.^[26]

At the time of the 2001 UK census, the ethnic composition of Plymouth's population was 98.4% White, with the largest minority ethnic group being Chinese at 0.3%. In terms of religion, 73.6% of the population are Christian with all other religions represented by less than 0.5% each. The number of people without a religion is above the national average at 18.3%, with 7.1% not stating their religion.^[27]

Below is a table outlining population change of the city since 1801. The population rose rapidly during the second half of the 19th century. The decline of over 1.6% from 1931 to 1951, including the period of World War II, is notable.

[edit] Economy

The economy of Plymouth has traditionally been linked to its coastal location based around fishing and the armed services, in particular the Navy and Devonport Dockyard. The long term decline of these industries has seen a greater diversification towards a service based economy based on healthcare, food and drink, chewing gum and call centres with electronics, advanced engineering and boat building still maintaining a prime role. The decline of heavy industries has had a negative effect on the city's employment figures. In the past eight years employment has risen 11%; however, employment and wages still remain significantly below the national average. Thirty thousand university students together with teaching and support staff now make higher education a powerful influence.

The Plymouth tourist office used to market the city under the slogan "Spirit of Discovery", a reference to the British seafarers and others who have set out from Plymouth to distant or uncharted areas of the world.^{[citation needed]} The historical connections, especially those related to Francis Drake, and the final sailing of the Mayflower, together with the view from the Hoe ensure that many visit the historic Barbican and seafront areas. Plymouth has no pleasure beaches, but Tinside Pool, a large lido that was restored in 2003, is at the foot of the Hoe. The city does not have a great deal of tourist accommodation compared to districts like Torbay: in 2006 it had just over 6,000 bed spaces, compared to Torbay's 44,000.^[28]

Plymouth has a large, entirely post-war, shopping area in the city centre. Most of the shops had been destroyed in the Blitz and those that remained were cleared to enable a huge zoned reconstruction according to the 1943 plan.^[11] As the new buildings were completed, shops returned from their temporary wartime premises and throughout the 1950s and 60s the city boasted one of the largest and modern shopping centres in the west of England. There was substantial pedestrianisation, more car parks, and a pannier market at the west end of the zone inside a now-listed grade II building that was completed in 1959.^[29] In terms of retail floorspace Plymouth is ranked in the top five in the South West,^[30] and 29th nationally.^[31] Plymouth was one of the first ten British cities to trial the new Business Improvement District initiative.^[32]

[edit] Plymouth 2020

Plymouth Council is currently undertaking a project of urban redevelopment, the largest since the city was rebuilt after the Second World War. The 'Vision for Plymouth' launched by the architect David Mackay, backed by Plymouth City Council is set to see areas of the city centre demolished, redesigned and rebuilt by the year 2020.^[33]

Significant regeneration has occurred in the last five years with the construction and opening of Drake Circus Shopping Centre, built on the site of an earlier shopping arcade to the east of the city centre. The council has encouraged cafés to create outdoor eating areas; and the clearing of a large public area in Armada Way has enabled farmers' markets and other street markets as well as exhibitions, entertainments and festivals. The old Drake Circus shopping centre and Charles Cross car park were demolished in 2004 and have been replaced by the latest Drake Circus Shopping Centre, which opened in October 2006.^[34]

As of 2007, the former Ballard Leisure Centre is being replaced with residential and office space along with a project involving the future demolition of the Bretonside bus station to build a new civic complex. In Drake Circus the Roland Levinsky Building, part of Plymouth University opened in 2007. Other suggestions include the demolition of the Plymouth Pavilions entertainment arena to create a canal 'boulevard' linking Millbay to the city centre. Millbay is being regenerated with mixed residential, retail and office space alongside the ferryport.

[edit] Transport

See also: Railways in Plymouth

Plymouth has no motorway links but the national network is accessible via the A38 dual-carriageway Devon Expressway to the M5 motorway which starts about 40 miles (64 km) east near Exeter. The A38 Parkway runs from east to west across the geographical centre of the city. The Tamar Bridge to the west of the city provides vehicle access to Cornwall from the A38 Parkway to Saltash.

Plymouth Citybus provides bus services to suburban areas of the city and First Group provides other services within the city (including park and ride) and in the surrounding area. Stagecoach Devon provides services to Exeter and Paignton, and Western Greyhound provides services to Liskeard and Newquay. From the Bretonside Bus station located near to Drake Circus, National Express and other operators run long distance coach services to London and many parts of the UK.

A regular international ferry service provided by Brittany Ferries operates from Millbay taking cars and foot passengers directly to France and Spain. There is a passenger ferry between Stonehouse and the Cornish hamlet of Cremyll and a water-bus from the Mayflower Steps to Mount Batten. The city also has an alternative to using the Tamar Bridge via the Torpoint Ferry across the River Tamar.

The city's only airport is Plymouth City Airport; a small airfield located in the suburb of Derriford 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the city centre, just off the A386 road to Tavistock. The airport is home to the local airline Air Southwest who operate flights across the British Isles.

The city's central and largest railway station, Plymouth railway station, is an important First Great Western station on the London to Penzance Line and also sees trains on the CrossCountry and South West Trains networks. Smaller stations are served by local trains on the Tamar Valley Line and Cornish Main Line.^[36] First Great Western have come under fire recently, due to widespread rail service cuts across the south west, which affect Plymouth greatly.^[37] Three MPs from the three main political parties in the region have joined together to put across the message that the train services are vital to its economy.^[38]

[edit] Education

Plymouth has a full range of primary and secondary schools including three state grammar schools, and an independent school, and the 11th largest university in the United Kingdom (excluding the Open University).^[39] The University of Plymouth is the largest university in south west England with over 30,000 students, almost 3,000 staff and an annual income of around £110 million. Founded as a college of technology and then becoming a polytechnic it also absorbed the School of Maritime Studies. It has courses in maritime business, marine engineering, marine biology and Earth, ocean and environmental sciences, surf science, shipping and logistics. The University College Plymouth St Mark & St John (Marjon), which specialises in teacher training, is close to Plymouth City Airport. City College Plymouth (formerly Plymouth College of Further Education) is a large further education college providing courses from the most basic to Foundation degrees; it enrols more than 20,000 students a year. The Plymouth College of Art and Design (known as PCAD) is located at Drake Circus and offers a wide selection of innovative and traditional courses. The city has a number of private language schools mostly teaching children and young people who come by ferry from France and Spain to learn English as a Foreign Language.

[edit] Religion

The first meeting in England of the Plymouth Brethren was held in the city by John Nelson Darby and Benjamin Wills Newton, amongst others.^[40] There are no recent records of Brethren in the modern city which otherwise has a reputation for tolerance and enlightened religious practice.^{[citation needed]}

Despite some belief Plymouth has a Victorian Catholic cathedral located in Wyndham Street, Stonehouse. Its senior Anglican church is called St Andrews located in the centre of the city in Royal Parade which hosts the civic services. There is a Quaker Meeting House on Mutley Plain. Adjacent in the city centre post-war ecclesiastical zone are modern Baptist and Unitarian churches. The Greek Orthodox community have converted an old church in West Hoe for their observances. Pentecostals, Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses have their own churches.

Other than all of Plymouth's christian places of worship are some places from other religions. The small Jewish community has an eighteenth century synagogue; the small Muslim community have a mosque at the Islamic Centre in North Road East; the Bahá'í have a meeting place at Dale Road in Mutley; the Buddhists have a place in St Jude's and there is also a church of Scientology in Beaumont Road.

[edit] Sports

With the promotion of Hull City AFC to the Premier League in 2008 Plymouth became the largest city in England never to have had a football team in the first tier of English football. It is home to Plymouth Argyle Football Club (commonly known as the Pilgrims, the Greens, the Green Army or simply Argyle) and is an English football team, playing in the Football League Championship. The club takes its nickname from the group of English Separatists that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. The club crest features the Mayflower, the London based ship, which carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. The club mascot is named Pilgrim Pete. The club is based at the Home Park stadium in Central Park. Plymouth United F.C. was formerly the town's other team. The Plymouth Rugby League Football Club play in the Rugby League Conference South West Division. Playing in the British Basketball League,the Plymouth Raiders who play their home games at the Plymouth Pavilions, which they share with the Plymouth Panthers Ice Hockey Club. There are many more sports teams in Plymouth: Plymouth Cricket Club, Plymouth Blitz, Plymouth Admirals, Plymouth Marjon Hockey Club, pgsob Hockey Club, Plymouth Mariners Baseball Club, and the Plymouth Marjon Cannons.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Culture of Plymouth

Plymouth has theatres, cinemas and art galleries as well as television stations. Outdoor events and festivals are held including the British Fireworks Championships and Music of the Night, an outdoor production held every two years in The Royal Citadel when amateurs sing to service unit musicians. The Plymouth Morris Men perform throughout the year at many events and venues.

The Theatre Royal is a provincial producing theatre and incorporates a studio theatre (The Drum). Its production and education centre, TR2, is in an award-winning building at Cattedown.^[41] The University has two well-equipped theatres within the Roland Levinsky Building. Amateurs perform at the Athenaeum Theatre, Devonport Playhouse, and the Globe Theatre (within Stonehouse barracks). The Plymouth Pavilions stages music concerts from rock and pop to ballet, as well as hosting basketball, wrestling and line dancing. There is a multiplex cinema at the Barbican Leisure Centre and a small cinema at Derry's Cross. In Looe Street, Plymouth Arts Centre has a two screen cinema specialising in art house and foreign films. The Levinsky arts building at the university has a film centre.

At the heart of Plymouth's nightlife is Union Street. Previously lined with music halls and cinemas, the street is now run down^[42] but is still home to a number of bars, clubs and casinos. Other clubs and bars are at the Barbican Leisure Park and on Lockyer Street.

Plymouth is regional television centre of BBC South West. ITV's television studio at Langage is to close in 2008. The regional stations include BBC Radio Devon, BBC Radio Cornwall, South Hams Radio, Plymouth Sound and Pirate FM. The main regional newspaper is the Western Morning News, whose local publishing and print centre at Derriford were designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. The local city paper, from the same publisher, Northcliffe Media group, at the same print centre, is the Plymouth 'Herald'. Hospital Radio Plymouth is a station dedicated to the city's patients, broadcasting to Derriford Hospital, The Royal Eye Infirmary and on 87.7fm.

[edit] Public services

Since 1973 Plymouth has been supplied water by South West Water. Prior to the 1973 take over it was supplied by Plymouth County Borough Corporation.^[43] About 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the city is Burator Reservoir, which was constructed in 1898 and later expanded in 1929. It still supplies much of the water for Plymouth. Plymouth City Council is responsible for waste management throughout the city^[44] and South West Water is responsible for sewerage. Plymouth's electricity is supplied up north on the National Grid and distributed to Plymouth via the Western Power Distribution. At present there isn't a power station (excluding wind turbines) in Devon and Cornwall, however the Langage Power Station, a gas powered station on the outskirts of Plympton, is due to start producing electricity for Plymouth at the end of 2009.^[45]

Plymouth is served by Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and the city's NHS hospital is Derriford Hospital 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the city centre and there is also a royal eye emfermiry. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust operates in Plymouth and the rest of the south west; its headquarters are in Exeter. Her Majesty's Court Service provide a Magistrates' Court, Crown and County Courts in the city. The nearest High Court is in Exeter as are the police and prosecuting headquarters. There is no prison or youth detention unit in Plymouth. The Plymouth Borough Police, formed in 1836, eventually became part of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.^[46] There are police stations at Charles Cross and Crownhill (the Divisional HQ) and smaller stations at Plympton and Plymstock.^[47] The city has one the Devon and Cornwall Area Crown Prosecution Service Divisional offices.^[48] Plymouth has several large fire stations located in Crownhill, Camel's Head, Green Bank, and Plympton, which is part of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. There is also a fire service training centre located in Plympton.

[edit] Notable people

Main article: List of people from Plymouth

People from Plymouth are known as Plymothians or less formally as Janners. Frank Bickerton was one of the pioneering Antarctic explorers in the early 20th century. He moved to Plymouth as a child in 1895 and lived in the city until 1920.

The artist Beryl Cook lived in Plymouth for much of her life and her paintings depict some of the colourful characters she encountered in the city. The actress Dawn French came from Plymouth and attended St Dunstans Abbey independent school for girls.

People born in Plymouth include Olympic swimmer Sharon Davies, gold medal-winning diver Thomas Daley,^[49] dancer Wayne Sleep, newsreader and journalist Angela Rippon and the ghostwriter and author Helen Grant. Other notable residents include footballer Trevor Francis, Newsreader Sue Lawley, the tennis player Sue Barker, and TV Presenter Fern Briton.

[edit] References

• Dunning, Martin (2001). Around Plymouth. Frith Book Co Ltd
• Gill, Crispin (1993). Plymouth: A New History. Devon Books
• Robinson, Chris (2004). Plymouth Then & Now. Plymouth Prints
• Casley, Nicholas (1997). The Medieval Incorporation of Plymouth and a Survey of the Borough's Bounds. Old Plymouth Society.
• Richard Carew (1555), The Survey of Cornwall, text here:[1] N.B. Carew refers to Plymouth Hoe as the Hawe at Plymmouth

[edit] External links

• Plymouth City Council website
• Chris Robinson's Plymouth Prints and local history
• Aerial photographs of Plymouth
• Plymouth Picture Postcards (mostly pre-WWII)

Coordinates: 50°21′51″N, 4°8′37″W

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v • d • e Ceremonial county of Devon Unitary authorities Plymouth • Torbay Boroughs or districts Exeter • East Devon • Mid Devon • North Devon • Torridge • West Devon • South Hams • Teignbridge Cities and towns Appledore • Ashburton • Axminster • Barnstaple • Beer • Bideford • Bradninch • Brixham • Buckfastleigh • Budleigh Salterton • Chagford • Chudleigh • Colyford • Colyton • Cranbrook • Crediton • Cullompton • Dartmouth • Dawlish • Exeter • Exmouth • Great Torrington • Hartland • Hatherleigh • Holsworthy • Honiton • Ilfracombe • Ivybridge • Kingsbridge • Moretonhampstead • Newton Abbot • North Tawton • Northam • Okehampton • Ottery St Mary • Paignton • Plymouth • Princetown • Salcombe • Sampford Courtenay • Seaton • Sherford • Sidmouth • South Molton • Tavistock • Teignmouth • Tiverton • Topsham • Torquay • Totnes • Westward Ho! See also: List of civil parishes in Devon