History
Barne Barton in the sixteenth century was a farm (the words 'Barne Barton' actually mean 'Barne Farm') and produced essentials such as meat, wheat, grain and potatoes. Its situation by the Tamar enabled its produce to be transported up stream to old settlements such as Tavistock.
At one time Barne Barton was one the largest naval estates within England providing accommodation for those serving in HMNB Devonport, Plymouth and on those warships stationed there. As the might of the Royal Navy reduced, so did the number of sailors. This reduction in manpower subsequently necessitated a reduction in the number of military married quarters required for serving personnel. As the size of the Navy continued to shrink, the first part of the military estate in the Bull Point area was sold by the MOD at a discounted purchase scheme to serving members of HM Forces with Naval Personnel given first priority and they ended up in private ownership. After further reduction in the size of the royal Navy a large chunk of flats in Savage Road and Roberts Road and Wilkinson Road were passed over initially to Plymouth City Council and about 2 years later houses in Kelly Close along with the Plymouth City Council Flats were passed over to Devon and Cornwall Housing Association. The MOD retained a number of houses in Roberts Road, Poole Park Road and Gray Crescent which were refurbished with new kitchens and bathrooms but kept empty for over 3 years. These houses were subsequently sold along with all other MOD homes to a private enterprise who were tasked with maintaining them in case they were required for future MOD use. They were eventuality refurbished by Anniston Homes and were sold off to the general public. None of the former MOD homes are owned by Plymouth City Council, however they do have a large housing stock in the area surrounded by Barne Road, Scott Avenue and the lower end of Foulston Avenue this housing stock is now owned by Plymouth Community Homes and is shorty due for modernisation and the end of 2010-2011.
The belief is held by long standing residents in the area that this transition from military ownership to civilian ownership was the start in the decline of the area. Barne Barton is known locally as "The forgotten island" due to lack of funding and maintenance by successive councils. However, the South West Regional Development Agency released a "vision" for Barne Barton in 2002, which has yet to come to fruition.
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“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“In history the great moment is, when the savage is just ceasing to be a savage, with all his hairy Pelasgic strength directed on his opening sense of beauty;—and you have Pericles and Phidias,—and not yet passed over into the Corinthian civility. Everything good in nature and in the world is in that moment of transition, when the swarthy juices still flow plentifully from nature, but their astrigency or acridity is got out by ethics and humanity.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)