Timeline of Plymouth

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

Prior to 17th century

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• 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]
  • November: Mayflower arrives in New England.
• 1621 – 9 November: The Fortune arrives in Cape Cod.
• 1623 – 10 July: The Anne arrives in Plymouth Colony.
• 1623 – 5 August: The Little James arrives in Plymouth Colony.
• 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]
• 1800 – Guildhall built.^[17]

19th century

• 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
• Timelines of other cities in South West England: Bath, Bristol, Exeter

References

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plymouth.

• "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 / 50.371389; -4.142222