History of Plymouth - Napoleonic Era

Napoleonic Era

The 18th century marked a period of continued expansion and development for the ancient port town: the first theatre in Plymouth and the model Royal Naval Hospital was built in 1762; ten years later it was followed by the town's first bank followed by the Marine barracks in Stonehouse another 10 years later. The first ferry to Torpoint began operating in 1791, which remains in operation today and in 1797 a military hospital was built by Stonehouse Creek. The urban populations of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse traded a variety of mineral ores such as copper, lime, tin and arsenic from the rural hinterlands via mining ports such as Morwellham Quay, Oreston the Stannary Towns of Tavistock and Plympton and small industrial towns throughout South Devon & East Cornwall. Around 1745, local apothecary William Cookworthy unravelled the then unknown formula for Chinese porcelain and developed the earliest English porcelain ware, Plymouth China manufactured for just two years in the town, but establishing the China Clay extraction industry in the region.

The Three Towns now enjoyed some prosperity during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and were enriched by a series of neo-classical urban developments designed by London architect John Foulston. Foulston was an important and early advocate of the Greek Revival and was responsible for several grand public buildings, many now destroyed, including the Athenaeum, the Theatre Royal and Royal Hotel, and he was responsible for the implementation of Union Street a grand thoroughfare proposed to unite the Three Towns. Important local houses such as Saltram House seat of the Earls of Morley, Antony House, Mount Edgcumbe House and Trematon Castle were extensively rebuilt to the fashionable Georgian tastes of the day by notable architects including Robert Adam.

After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was brought to Plymouth aboard HMS Bellerophon which remained in Plymouth Sound with the ex-emperor aboard for two weeks before his exile to St Helena. Under renewed threat of invasion from across the Channel, Plymouth Sound and the dockyards at Devonport once again assumed a critical strategic significance in the defence of the nation. Though the threat never materialised, the sound was heavily fortified at the recommendation of Lord Palmerston with early 19th century gun emplacements installed at Mount Edgecumbe and St Nicholas Island (now Drake's Island), and with the construction of forts guarding the port on the headlands at the mouth of the harbour.

Plymouth Sound continued to be the departure point of many historic sea voyages including the First voyage of James Cook in 1768 aboard HMS Endeavour, Admiral William Bligh aboard HMS Bounty in 1789 and the second voyage of HMS Beagle in 1831, containing the 22 year old Charles Darwin.

The third Eddystone Lighthouse, Smeaton's Tower was assembled from granite at Millbay from 1756-9 and marked a major leap forward in the development of lighthouse design - the upper portion remains the most iconic landmark of the modern city.