Plymouth, Devon

Plymouth is a city on the southern coast of Devon in south-west England, with a population of about 260,000, making it the largest centre of population in Devon and Cornwall. Most of it lies between the estuaries of the rivers Tamar (which constitutes the boundary with Cornwall) and Plym. These meet in Plymouth Sound, which is a good natural harbour. There are several docks: the naval dockyard at Devonport on the Tamar; a ferryport and small commercial dock at Millbay; a fishing and yachting harbour at Sutton Harbour (by the original town); and a tanker terminal on the Plym. In addition there are various marinas.

History

There are known to have been prehistoric and possibly Roman settlements in the area.

The name is obviously derived from the river Plym, which in turn is thought to be probably a back-formation from Plympton, "the estate/village of the plum tree", now a suburb of Plymouth. The original name of the settlement was Sutton, "south farm". Plympton was indeed more important than Sutton up to the 13th century. It had a market in 1194 and became a borough in 1242 and a stannary town in 1328.

The first recorded use of the name Plymouth was in 1211. It began to be prominent in Edward I's continental wars, and by the late 14th century trade was thriving. Following French raids, work started on fortifications early in the 15th century and proceeded slowly, funded by a combination of means. In 1439 the town and port of Sutton finally became a borough under the name of Plymouth. It was primarily a trading port, with some piracy.

The protestant ethos which it acquired developed into a radical tradition and the town was an isolated parliamentary outpost in the English Civil War, holding out with difficulty.

Administration

The city is a unitary authority. Politically, it is marginal, with control swinging between Conservative and Labour.