Modernisation and Urbanisation
By comparison with the earlier eras, the later nineteenth century marked a period of consolidation and modernisation of a relatively stable military port industry, gradual decline in the importance of commercial trade and some growth in passenger shipping at the Millbay Docks which set the template until well into modern period. The railways arrived early in Plymouth, with industrial tramways serving the naval dockyard as early as 1724, and steam arriving with the South Devon Railway in 1848.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed and constructed the iconic Royal Albert Bridge, completed 1859,for the Great Western Railway which did much to connect the isolated population of the Three Towns with the rest of the country.
However high rents in the cramped ancient tenements had resulted in overcrowding and unsanitary conditions documented in an 1852 Government report following the Public Health Act 1848, which suggested that conditions were the worst in Europe with the exception of Warsaw. The damning findings of the report resulted in large scale slum clearances of most of the ancient parts of the City and substantial public housing improvements.
The Guildhall, Law Courts and Municipal Offices were constructed in the 1870s in a French Gothic style and reflected the burgeoning civic pride in Plymouth as the commercial head of the Three Towns; most of the complex was later destroyed, however about one third, including the tower was remodelled in the 1950s. The bid for city status was eventually granted in 1928 and constituted as the City of Plymouth.
Until World War II, the port at Millbay Docks was used for Transatlantic liner shipping, as it had been since the 1870s. Many of the surviving crew of the RMS Titanic disaster disembarked at Millbay docks on their return to England in 1912.
During the First World War, Devonport Dockyard provided employment to around 20,000 workers, but after the war the ending of the naval arms race, the need to economise on government expenditure (culminating in the Geddes Axe), and the Great Depression jointly led to large declines in its workforce, down to a low of under 11,000 by 1933. Despite this, Plymouth suffered less than cities that were dependent on commercial shipbuilders: in 1932 unemployment in Plymouth was 20.6% compared to 30.7% in Glasgow and 34.2% in Barrow-in-Furness. A number of representations were made to the Admiralty for alleviating the high unemployment, including transferring part of the Dockyard's workforce and facilities to a commercial employer, converting part of the yard into a commercial port and the use of dockyard labour and facilities to do commercial work under the Admiralty's control. Only the last of these suggestions was adopted, and only to a limited degree. The 1931 census showed that despite the decline in Dockyard employment, 40% of the employed population of Plymouth were still working in either "Public Administration and Defence" or "Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering"—this is compared to 11% for the country as a whole—and 21% of the employed were directly engaged upon defence.
Plymouth Pier, 1884 - the last by noted pier builder Eugenius Birch - and the unique Art Deco Lido Tinside Pool of 1935 were constructed as seafront leisure facilities reflecting the growing importance of tourism to the new city's economy.
Read more about this topic: History Of Plymouth