Timeline of Plymouth

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Plymouth, Devon, England.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 17th century

• 1086 - The Domesday Book records Plymouth as Sudtone (Sutton) and records only 7 households and a total annual revenue of £1. The lord of the manor before 1066 had been Edward the Confessor.^[1]
• 1254 – Town status recognised.^[2]
• 1276 - Plymouth first recorded as a borough.^[3]
• 1291 – St. Andrew church built.^[4]
• 1371 – Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe licensed.
• 1403 – Town burned by Bretons.^[5]
• 1404 – Town wall constructed.^[6]
• 1431 – Dominican monastery built.
• 1439
  • Town granted charter by Parliament.^[2]
  • Market and fair active.^[7]
• 1542 - Antiquary John Leland visits and records "The towne of Plymmouth is very large."^[8]
• 1572 – Grammar school founded.^[9]
• 1579 – Plague.^[9]
• 1580 – 26 September: Drake's Golden Hind ship arrives.^[10]
• 1581 – Plague.^[9]
• 1588 - 19 July: Fifty-five English ships sail from Plymouth under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake to fight the Spanish Armada.

17th–18th centuries

• 1620 – 6 September: Mayflower ship departs for New England.^[5]
• 1644 - The Siege of Plymouth by Royalist forces under Sir Richard Grenville in the English Civil War.
• 1652 – 26 August: Battle of Plymouth occurs offshore in the First Anglo-Dutch War.
• 1657 – Charles Church built.
• 1658 – Post house established.^[11]
• 1670 – Citadel built on the Hoe.^[2]
• 1671 – Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe rebuilt (approximate date).
• 1690 – Royal Dockyard built near town.^[2][12]
• 1696 - Work starts on Henry Winstanley's first Eddystone Lighthouse, 12 miles (19 km) off Plymouth Sound.
• 1718 – Plymouth Weekly Journal in publication.^[13]
• 1758
  • Theatre built.
  • Plymouth and Portsmouth Fortifications Act passed by Parliament.
• 1759 – Smeaton's Tower (lighthouse) built.
• 1762 – Plymouth Synagogue built.
• 1768 – Cookworthy's porcelain factory established.^[14]
• 1770 – Plymouth Improvement Act passed by Parliament.
• 1773 – Stonehouse Bridge constructed.^[11]
• 1781 – Poor Relief, etc. Act passed by Parliament.
• 1790 – New Pier constructed at Sutton Pool.^[15]
• 1798 – 3 April: HMS Pallas wrecked offshore.^[16]

19th century

• 1800 – Guildhall built.^[17]
• 1808 – Plymouth Gazette begins publication.^[18]
• 1810 – Plymouth Proprietary Library founded.^[19]
• 1811 – Theatre/Hotel building constructed.^[17]
• 1812
  • Plymouth Institution (now The Plymouth Athenaeum) founded.^[20][21]
  • Plymouth Breakwater construction begins.^[22]
• 1813
  • Port of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce established.^[11]
  • Exchange building constructed.^[17]
• 1815 - 26 July: Napoleon Bonaparte enters Plymouth Sound aboard HMS Bellerophon, awaiting transportation to exile in Saint Helena.
• 1819 – The Plymouth Athenaeum building designed by John Foulston opens.^[23]
• 1820 – Plymouth Herald and Plymouth Journal newspapers begin publication.^[24]
• 1825 – Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway in operation.
• 1826 – Plymouth Mechanics' Institute founded.^[17]
• 1828
  • Royal Union Baths built.^[17]
  • Plymouth, Devonport, and Cornwall Races begin.^[17]
• 1829
  • Museum of the Plymouth Institution built.^[20]
  • Blue Friars (club) founded.^[25]
• 1831 – Plymouth and Devonport Spring Races begin.^[17]
• 1832 – Plymouth Times newspaper begins publication.^[24]
• 1844 – Lighthouse commissioned on Plymouth Breakwater.
• 1849 – South Devon Railway begins operating.^[5]
• 1851 – Plymouth Institution (now The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society.^[26]
• 1854 – Royal Albert Bridge constructed to Saltash.
• 1856 – Plymouth Drawing School founded.
• 1858 – Plymouth Cathedral building constructed.^[27]
• 1860 - Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommends a huge programme of fortifications for Plymouth, with a projected cost of £3,020,000.^[28]
• 1862 – Plymouth Lifeboat Station in operation.^[29]
• 1863 – St. Boniface Boys' Catholic School active.
• 1865
  • Plymouth Breakwater Fort built.
  • Duke of Cornwall Hotel in business.
• 1871 – Agaton Fort built.
• 1874 – Guildhall built.^[27]
• 1877 – Plymouth College founded.
• 1889 – Grand Theatre opens.^[30]
• 1895 – Western Evening Herald newspaper begins publication.^[31]
• 1898 – New Palace Theatre opens.^[30]
• 1899 – Plymouth Institution (now The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Plymouth Mechanics' Institute.^[32]

20th century

• 1914 – Plymouth, Devonport, and East Stonehouse merge to form the County Borough of Plymouth.^[5]
• 1928 – Plymouth attains city status.^[2]
• 1929 – Old Plymouth Society founded.^[33]
• 1933 – Western Fascist newspaper begins publication.^[34]
• 1934 – Mayflower Steps monument erected.^[2]
• 1935
  • Tinside Pool (swimming pool) opens.
  • Lord Mayor appointed.^[2]
• 1940 – 6 July: Aerial bombing by German forces begins.
• 1941 – 20 March: Aerial bombing by German forces.^[5]
• 1944 – May: aerial bombing by German forces ends: about 1,000 people were killed, 5,000 injured, 10,000 houses destroyed, and 70,000 more damaged.^[3]
• 1958 – Drake Cinema opens.^[30]
• 1961
  • Westward Television begins broadcasting.
  • The Plymouth Athenaeum reopens after destruction of original building in Blitz.^[35]
• 1967
  • 28 May: Sir Francis Chichester arrives back in Plymouth on his yacht, Gypsy Moth IV, after completing his single-handed voyage around the world.^[36]
  • Plympton and Plymstock become part of city.^[2]
• 1971 – Mayflower Centre (sport facility) built.
• 1975 – Plymouth Sound (radio) begins broadcasting.
• 1982
  • Television South West begins broadcasting.
  • St Boniface Arena opens.
• 1986 – Plymouth Citybus begins operating.
• 1991 – Plymouth Pavilions (sport facility) opens.
• 1992 – University of Plymouth chartered.^[5]
• 1998 – National Marine Aquarium opens.
• 1999 – Vue cinema opens.^[30]

21st century

• 2006 – Drake Circus Shopping Centre in business.
• 2009 – The Plymouth Athenaeum's theatre closes.^[37]
• 2010 – Radio Plymouth begins broadcasting.
• 2012 – The Plymouth Athenaeum celebrates bicentenary.^[38]

See also

• History of Plymouth

References

1. Palmer, J N N. "Open Domesday - Place: Sutton". opendomesday.org. Powell-Smith, Anna. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
2. "Brief History of Plymouth". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
3. "Plymouth". www.devon.gov.uk. Devon County Council. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
4. John Thomson (1845), "Plymouth", New Universal Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary, London: H.G. Bohn
5. Devon Library and Information Services. "Devon Timeline". Devon County Council. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
6. "Local History". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
7. Samantha Letters (2005), "Devon", Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (Institute of Historical Research, Centre for Metropolitan History)
8. Smith, Lucy Toulmin (editor) 1907, The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543, George Bell and Sons, London (p. 212)
9. George Henry Townsend (1867), "Plymouth", A Manual of Dates (2nd ed.), London: Frederick Warne & Co.
10. "Tudors". British History Timeline. BBC. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
11. R.N. Worth (1890). History of Plymouth from the Earliest Period to the Present Time (2nd ed.). Plymouth: W. Brendon & Son.
12. "Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport". United Kingdom: Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
13. "Plymouth (England) Newspapers". Main Catalogue. British Library. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
14. R.N. Worth (1876), "William Cookworthy and the Plymouth China Factory", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art (Plymouth: W. Brendon & Son) 8
15. "Plymouth Town". Plymouth-Dock Guide. Plymouth-Dock: E. Hoxland. 1796.
16. William Toone (1835). Chronological Historian ... of Great Britain (2nd ed.). London: J. Dowding.
17. H.E. Carrington (1837), Plymouth and Devonport Guide (4th ed.), Devonport: W. Byers
18. "Catalogue of Works Relating to Devon and Cornwall", South Devon Literary Chronicle (Plymouth: R. Lidstone), 1847 + part 2, part 3
19. "Directory". UK: Association of Independent Libraries. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
20. Transactions of the Plymouth Institution, Plymouth: Rowe, 1830
21. "About Us". Plymouth Athenaeum. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
22. George Granville (1825). Companion to the Plymouth and Devonport National Breakwater. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green.
23. Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England) by Nikolaus Pevsner (Author), Bridget Cherry (Author, Editor) Cherry & Pevsner 1989, p.664.
24. "Plymouth". Newspaper Press Directory. London: Charles Mitchell. 1847.
25. W.H.K. Wright (1889). The Blue Friars. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co.
26. The Plymouth Athenaeum 1812 – 2012, Athenaeum Publishing 2012
27. Hermann G. de Watteville (1910), "Plymouth", The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, OCLC 14782424
28. Hogg, Ian V (1974), Coast Defences of England and Wales, 1856-1956, David & Charles, ISBN 978-0-7153635-3-9 (p. 23)
29. "Station History". Plymouth Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
30. "Movie Theaters in Plymouth, England". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
31. "Plymouth", Willing's Press Guide, London: James Willing, Jr., 1907
32. The Plymouth Athenaeum 1812 – 2012, Athenaeum Publishing 2012
33. "History of the Society". Old Plymouth Society. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
34. Ian Maxted (2001), "The alternative press in Devon", A history of the book in Devon, Exeter Working Papers in British Book Trade History
35. "Athenaeum, Plymouth - Theatre Tickets, whats on and theatre information". Theatresonline.com. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
36. "1967: Sir Francis Chichester sails home". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
37. "Days left for Plymouth Athenaeum Theatre". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
38. "History of city centre venue is published". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

1800s–1840s

• John Britton; Edward Wedlake Brayley (1803), "Plymouth", Beauties of England and Wales 4, London: Vernor & Hood
• Henry Woollcombe (1812). Picture of Plymouth. Plymouth: Rees & Curtis. OCLC 504893051.
• George Alexander Cooke (ca.1817?). "Plymouth". Topographical and Statistical Description of the County of Devon (3rd ed.). London: Sherwood, Neeley and Jones. Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Plymouth", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven, Connecticut: S. Converse
• David Brewster, ed. (1832). "Plymouth". Edinburgh Encyclopædia 15. Philadelphia: Joseph and Edward Parker.
• George Wightwick (1836), Nettleton's Guide to Plymouth, Stonehouse, Devonport, Plymouth: Edward Nettleton
• "Plymouth", Leigh's New Pocket Road-Book of England and Wales (7th ed.), London: Leigh and Son, 1839
• J. Pigot & Co. (c. 1839), "Plymouth", Devonshire, Pigot and Co.'s Pocket Atlas, Topography and Gazetteer of England (11), London
• Stranger's Hand-Book, to the Western Metropolis; Containing a ... Description of Plymouth, Devonport, Stonehouse, and Neighborhood. Devonport: W. Wood & Son. 1841.
• Samuel Lewis (1848), "Plymouth", Topographical Dictionary of England (7th ed.), London: S. Lewis and Co.

1850s–1890s

• George Samuel Measom (1860), "Plymouth", Official Illustrated Guide to the Bristol and Exeter, North and South Devon, Cornwall, and South Wales Railways, London: Richard Griffin and Co.
• Llewellynn Jewitt (1873). History of Plymouth.
• "Plymouth", History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including the City of Exeter (2nd ed.), Sheffield: William White, 1878
• John Parker Anderson (1881), "Devonshire: Plymouth", Book of British Topography: a Classified Catalogue of the Topographical Works in the Library of the British Museum Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, London: W. Satchell
• R.N. Worth (1883), "Plymouth", Tourist's Guide to South Devon (3rd ed.), London: Edward Stanford
• R.N. Worth (1883). "Antiquity and Antiquities of Plymouth". Journal of the British Archaeological Association 339.
• Edward E. Meeres (1886). "Plymouth in the Eighteenth Century, from a Medical Point of View". Western Antiquary, or Notebook for Devon, Cornwall & Somerset (Plymouth) 6.
• Richard Nicholls Worth (1893), Calendar of the Plymouth Municipal Records, Plymouth
• "Plymouth", Handbook for Travellers in Devon (11th ed.), London: J. Murray, 1895
• "Portsmouth", Great Britain (4th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1897, OCLC 6430424
• Charles Gross (1897). "Plymouth". Bibliography of British Municipal History. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.
• F.M. Williams (1898), Plymouth as a Tourist and Health Resort, Plymouth: J.H. Keys

Published in the 20th century

• "Western Section: Plymouth". Book of Fair Devon. United Devon Association. 1900.
• Henry Francis Whitfeld (1900), Plymouth and Devonport: in times of war and peace, Plymouth: E. Chapple
• Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Plymouth, Stonehouse, Devonport, and South-West Devon. London: Ward Lock & Co. c. 1901.
• Charles E. Eldred and W.H.K. Wright (1901). Streets of Old Plymouth. Printed by J. H. Keys.
• G.K. Fortescue, ed. (1902). "Plymouth, Devon". Subject Index of the Modern Works Added to the Library of the British Museum in the Years 1881–1900. London.
• A. R. Hope Moncrieff (1902), "Plymouth", Black's Guide to Devonshire (17th ed.), London: A. & C. Black
• J.G. Bartholomew (1904), "Plymouth", Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, London: G. Newnes
• W.H.K. Wright (1909). Story of Plymouth for Young and Old. Exeter: A. Wheaton.
• Bracken C.W., 1931, A History of Plymouth and her Neighbours, Underhill (Plymouth) Ltd.
• A.H. Shorter and E.T. Woodley (1937). "Plymouth, Port and City". Geography 22.
• "City That Refused to Die", National Geographic (Washington, D.C.) 89, 1946 (describes Plymouth)

External links

• "Plymouth Maritime History Timeline". Shipwrecks and History in Plymouth Sound. Plymouth, England: SHIPS Project.
• "Devon", Historical Directories (UK: University of Leicester). Includes digitised directories of Plymouth area, various dates
• Digital Public Library of America. Works related to Plymouth, various dates

Coordinates: 50°22′17″N 4°08′32″W / 50.371389°N 4.142222°W