Plymouth Dome

Plymouth Dome, seen in 2015 as the restaurant Rhodes @ The Dome.

Plymouth Dome was a museum and visitor attraction located at Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth, Devon. It opened in 1989 and closed in 2006. The museum had a variety of themed galleries, covering the history of Plymouth,[1] as well as two observation galleries overlooking Plymouth Sound.[2]

History

Plymouth Dome was built in 1988 as a new museum and tourist attraction covering the history of Plymouth. Although it was not opened to the public until 1989, Queen Elizabeth II visited the building on 20 July 1988, during which she unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The museum opened to the public in 1989.[3] An official opening followed in November by diplomat and academic Bryce Harland, the then-High Commissioner for New Zealand.[4]

In 2004, it was revealed by The Independent that the museum attracted 60,000 visitors a year.[5] However, in 2006, falling visitor numbers led Plymouth City Council to consider the attraction's future.[6] In March, the council agreed to lease the building to the Wykeham Group, who were to invest £750,000 in creating a restaurant within an exhibition area in the building.[7] However, the plans never came to fruition, and the Plymouth Dome subsequently closed.

The building remained empty for over five years. In late 2011, it was announced that Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes intended to open a restaurant within the former museum.[8] Although it was originally due to open in late 2012, the £1.5 million restaurant "Rhodes @ The Dome" opened in January 2013.[9] Months after received a zero hygiene rating, Rhodes chose to end his association with the restaurant in January 2016. It was then re-branded as "The Dome".[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Plymouth Dome - Informational site for Plymouth Dome and Smeatons Tower Lighthouse". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2003-12-03. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  2. ↑ "Plymouth Dome - Informational site for Plymouth Dome and Smeatons Tower Lighthouse". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2003-11-19. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  3. ↑ "A Timeline of Plymouth". Localhistories.org. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  4. ↑ Jon Bayley (1988-07-20). "Odd decisions may have contributed to failure of Plymouth Dome". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  5. ↑ Mark Rowe (2004-12-05). "Family Outings: Plymouth Dome". The Independent. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  6. ↑ "UK | England | Devon | Dome's future up for discussion". BBC News. 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  7. ↑ "UK | England | Devon | Seventy jobs created at city Dome". BBC News. 2006-03-22. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  8. ↑ "Chef Gary Rhodes planning restaurant at Plymouth Dome - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  9. ↑ Ruddick, Peter (2013-01-16). "Gary Rhodes Plymouth restaurant Rhodes @ The Dome". Bighospitality.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2017-06-26.

Coordinates: 50°21′50″N 4°08′31″W / 50.36383°N 4.14203°W / 50.36383; -4.14203

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