A naval base since the days of Edward I and his wars with France. The port was vital in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Devonport Dockyard, originally known as Plymouth Dock, on the Hamoaze (the name for part of the River Tamar), is the largest Naval dockyard in Western Europe and dates from 1693 when a wet and dry dock was built, followed by the construction of workshops, stores, and more docks. From 1700 a new town had been built around the dockyard and in 1824 it broke free from its older neighbour to become Devonport. Painting of The Great Fire of 1840. The city was extensively bombed during the Second World War.
photographs of old buildings
many from around 1880