View source for Plymouth

{{About|the city in England|the town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts|Plymouth, Massachusetts|other uses}}
{{good article}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Plymouth
| official_name      = 
| settlement_type    = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]] and [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image | border = infobox | | perrow = 1/2/2/2 | total_width = 270 | align = center
| image1 = Plymouth_City.JPG
| caption1 = Plymouth skyline
| image2 = Plymouth Barbican 2022.jpg
| caption2 = [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]] 
| image3 = The Tamar bridges from Saltash - geograph.org.uk - 4916359.jpg
| caption3 = [[Royal Albert Bridge]]
| image4 = Plymouth Guildhall.jpg
| caption4 = [[Plymouth Guildhall|The Guildhall]] and [[Plymouth Minster|The Minster Church]]
| image5= Wiki rwy us.jpg
| caption5 = [[Royal William Victualling Yard|Royal William Yard]]
| image6 = National_Marine_Aquarium_Building.jpg
| caption6 = [[National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth|National Marine Aquarium]]
| image7 = Smeatons_tower_-_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg
| caption7 = [[Smeaton's Tower]]
}}
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Plymouth.svg
| flag_size          = 150px
| flag_link          = Flag of Plymouth
| image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Plymouth.svg
| nickname           = Britain's Ocean City
| motto = {{force singular}} {{lang|la|Turris fortissima est nomen Jehova}}<br /><small>"The name of Jehovah is the strongest tower"</small><ref name="brief history" />
| image_map          = Plymouth UK locator map.svg
| map_caption        = Shown within [[Devon]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|50|22|17|N|4|08|32|W|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map        = England#UK#Europe
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within England##Location within the United Kingdom##Location in Europe
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name   = United Kingdom
| subdivision_type1  = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_type4  = [[Ceremonial counties of England|Ceremonial county]]
| subdivision_name1  = England
| subdivision_name3  = [[South West England]]
| subdivision_name4  = [[Devon]]
| established_title  = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City status]]
| established_date   = 1928
| established_title1 = [[Unitary Authority]]
| established_date1  = 1998
| government_type    = Unitary authority
| governing_body     = [[Plymouth City Council]]
| leader_title3      = Council control
| leader_name3       = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]<br /><small>(as of [[2023 United Kingdom local elections|4 July 2023]])</small>
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="auto">{{United Kingdom district population citation|area}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = {{English district area||GSS= E06000026}}
| area_rank          = {{English district area rank|GSS= E06000026}} [[List of English districts by area|(of {{English district total}})]]
| elevation_min_m    = 0
| population_total   = 277,695 (city / unitary authority)<br /> 300,983 (urban) 
| population_as_of   = 2021 Census
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_rank    = {{English district rank|GSS= E06000026}} [[List of English districts by population|(of {{English district total}})]]
| population_blank1_title = [[Demonym]]s
| population_blank1  = Plymothian (formal)<br />[[Janner]] (informal)

<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1 = Ethnicity <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])</span>
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|Ethnic groups]]
| demographics1_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 94% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 2.2% [[British Asians|Asian]]
 | 1.7% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 1% [[Black British people|Black]]
 | 0.3% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
 
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2 = Religion <span style="font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021|id=E07000103|title=Watford Local Authority|access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1 = [[Religion in England|Religion]]
| demographics2_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 51.8% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 45.3% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 1.4% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
 | 0.6% [[Religion in England|other]]
 | 0.4% [[Buddhism in England|Buddhism]]
 | 0.3% [[Hinduism in England|Hinduism]]
 | 0.1% [[Sikhism in England|Sikhism]]
 | 0.1% [[History of the Jews in England|Judaism]]
 }}
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal codes in the United Kingdom|Postcode district]]
| postal_code        = [[PL postcode area|PL1–9]]
| area_code          = 01752
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| leader_title2      = Leadership
| leader_name2       = Councillor Tudor Evans OBE
| leader_title4      = [[List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election|Members of Parliament]]
| leader_name4       = [[Fred Thomas (British politician)|Fred Thomas]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|L]])<br />[[Luke Pollard]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|L]])<br />[[Rebecca Smith (politician)|Rebecca Smith]] ([[Conservative Party (UK)|C]])
| elevation_max_m    = 155
| timezone           = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| utc_offset         = 0
| timezone_DST       = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| utc_offset_DST     = +1
| blank_name         = [[ISO 3166|ISO 3166 code]]
| blank_info         = [[ISO 3166-2:GB|GB-PLY]]
| blank1_name        = Police
| blank1_info        = [[Devon and Cornwall Police|Devon and Cornwall]]
| blank2_name        = Ambulance
| blank2_info        = [[South Western Ambulance Service|South Western]]
| blank3_name        = Fire
| blank3_info        = [[Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service|Devon and Somerset]]
| parts_type         = Areas of the city
| p1                 = [[Barne Barton]]
| p2                 = [[Cattedown]]
| p3                 = [[Compton, Plymouth|Compton]]
| p4                 = [[Crabtree, Plymouth|Crabtree]]
| p5                 = [[Crownhill]]
| p6                 = [[Devonport, Plymouth|Devonport]] (One of the [[Three Towns]])
| p7                 = [[Drake (Plymouth ward)|Drake]]
| p8                 = [[Efford]]
| p9                 = [[Eggbuckland]]
| p10                = [[Ernesettle]]
| p11                = [[Estover]]
| p12                = [[Greenbank, Plymouth|Greenbank]]
| p13                = [[Ham, Plymouth|Ham]]
| p14                = [[Hartley, Plymouth|Hartley]]
| p15                = [[Hooe, Plymouth|Hooe]]
| p16                = [[Honicknowle]]
| p17                = [[Keyham, Plymouth|Keyham]]
| p18                = [[King's Tamerton]]
| p19                = [[Laira]]
| p20                = [[Leigham]]
| p21                = [[Lipson]]
| p22                = [[Manadon]]
| p23                = [[Mannamead]]
| p24                = [[Milehouse]]
| p25                = [[Millbay]]
| p26                = [[Millbridge, Plymouth|Millbridge]]
| p27                = [[Morice Town]]
| p28                = [[North Prospect]]
| p29                = [[Pennycomequick]]
| p30                = [[Pennycross]]
| p31                = [[Peverell]]
| p32                = Plymouth (One of the [[Three Towns]])
| p33                = [[Plympton]]
| p34                = [[Plymstock]]
| p35                = [[Roborough, South Hams|Roborough]] (Village, part)
| p36                = [[St Budeaux]]
| p37                = [[Southway]]
| p38                = [[Stoke, Plymouth|Stoke]]
| p39                = [[Stonehouse, Plymouth|Stonehouse]] (One of the [[Three Towns]])
| p40                = [[Tamerton Foliot]] (Village)
| p41                = [[West Hoe]]
| p42                = [[Weston Mill]]
| p43                = [[Whitleigh]]
| p44                = [[Woolwell]]
}}

'''Plymouth''' <!-- Please do not add a Cornish translation. It is not and never has been an official language used outside Cornwall. Plymouth is not in Cornwall. "Plymouth" is derived from Anglo-Saxon. -->({{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-Plymouth.ogg|ˈ|p|l|ɪ|.|m|ə|θ}} {{Respell|PLIM|əth}}) is a [[port]] [[city status in the United Kingdom|city]] and [[unitary authority]] in [[Devon]], [[South West England]]. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers [[River Plym|Plym]] and [[River Tamar|Tamar]], about {{convert|36|mi|km}} southwest of [[Exeter]] and {{convert|193|mi|km}} southwest of London. It is the most populous city in Devon.

Plymouth's history extends back to the [[Bronze Age]], evolving from a trading post at [[Mount Batten]] into the thriving [[market town]] of Sutton, which was formally re-named as Plymouth in 1439 when it was made a [[borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]]. The settlement has played a significant role in English history, notably in 1588 when an English fleet based here defeated the [[Spanish Armada]], and in 1620 as the departure point for the [[Pilgrim Fathers]] to the [[New World]]. During the [[English Civil War]], the town was held by the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] and was besieged between 1642 and 1646. In 1690 a [[dockyard]] was established on the River Tamar for the [[Royal Navy]] and Plymouth grew as a commercial shipping port throughout the [[Industrial Revolution]].

After absorbing nearby settlements in 1914, the borough was awarded city status in 1928. During [[World War II]], Plymouth suffered extensive damage in the [[Plymouth Blitz]], leading to post-war rebuilding that significantly shaped its modern appearance. A further expansion of its boundaries in 1967 contributed to its current status as the [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|30th-most populous built-up area]] in the UK and the second-largest city in the South West after [[Bristol]], with a population in {{United Kingdom statistics year}} of {{English district population|GSS=E06000026}}.

Plymouth's economy, historically rooted in shipbuilding and seafaring, has transitioned towards a service-based economy since the 1990s. It maintains strong maritime connections, hosting [[HMNB Devonport]], the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, and offering ferry links to Brittany and Spain. The city is also home to the [[University of Plymouth]], reflecting its educational and cultural significance. Today, the city is governed locally by [[Plymouth City Council]] and is represented nationally by three<ref>{{Cite web |title=MPs {{!}} PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/mps |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Plymouth City Council |language=en}}</ref> [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]].

== History ==
{{Main|History of Plymouth}}
{{For timeline}}

=== Early history ===

[[Upper Palaeolithic]] deposits, including bones of ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' have been found in local caves,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Andrew T. Chamberlain |title=A Catalogue of Quaternary Fossil-bearing Cave Sites in the Plymouth Area |last2=Keith W. Ray |last3=Charlotte Henderson |last4=Richard Welton Fisher |publisher=Plymouth City Archaeology |year=1994 |isbn=1-85522-345-7}}</ref> and artefacts dating from the [[Bronze Age]] to the Middle [[Iron Age]] have been found at [[Mount Batten]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1017598 |desc=Mount Batten|access-date=30 March 2019}}</ref> showing that it was one of few principal trading ports of pre-Roman [[Britannia (Roman province)|Britannia]] dominating continental trade with [[Armorica]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYMFtWb-DYQC |title=A Companion to Roman Britain |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-631-21823-8 |editor-last=Malcolm Todd |page=3 |chapter=Britain and the Continent:Networks of Interaction |access-date=23 June 2008 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222308/https://books.google.com/books?id=SYMFtWb-DYQC |url-status=live }}</ref> An unidentified settlement named ''TAMARI OSTIA'' (mouth/estuaries of the Tamar) is listed in Ptolemy's [[Geography (Ptolemy)|''Geographia'']] and is presumed to be located in the area of the modern city.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Denis Larionov |last2=Alexander Zhulin |title=Read the ebook Geographia classica, or, The application of antient geography to the classics by Samuel Butler |url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/samuel-butler/geographia-classica-or-the-application-of-antient-geography-to-the-classics-hci/page-4-geographia-classica-or-the-application-of-antient-geography-to-the-classics-hci.shtml |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=Ebooksread.com |name-list-style=amp |archive-date=21 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521200551/http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/samuel-butler/geographia-classica-or-the-application-of-antient-geography-to-the-classics-hci/page-4-geographia-classica-or-the-application-of-antient-geography-to-the-classics-hci.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> An ancient [[promontory fort]] was located at [[Rame Head]] at the mouth of [[Plymouth Sound]]{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} with ancient [[hillforts]] located at [[Lyneham, Yealmpton|Lyneham]] Warren to the east, [[Boringdon Camp]]{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} and [[Maristow]] Camp to the north.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/ |title=Atlas of hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland |publisher=Hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk |accessdate=2022-07-19}}</ref>

The settlement of [[Plympton]], further up the [[River Plym]] than the current Plymouth, was also an early trading port. (See [[Plympton]] for the derivation of the name ''Plym''.) As the river silted up in the early 11th century, mariners and merchants were forced to settle downriver, at the current day [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]] near the river mouth.<ref name="early history">{{cite web |title=The early history of Plymouth |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/localhistory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609032535/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/localhistory |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=19 July 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> At the time this village was called Sutton, meaning ''south town'' in [[Old English]].<ref name="early history" /> The name ''Plym Mouth'', meaning "mouth of the River Plym" was first mentioned in a [[Pipe Rolls|Pipe Roll]] of 1211.<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Gill
|first1=Crispin
|title=Plymouth, A New History
|url=https://archive.org/details/plymouthnewhisto0000gill
|url-access=registration
|date=1979|publisher=David and Charles
|location=Newton Abbot
|isbn=978-0-7153-7617-1}} (Quoted in {{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=2 January 2011 |title=Plymouth – a History |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/A%20History.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024011834/http://www.plymouthdata.info/A%20History.htm |archive-date=24 October 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}})</ref> [[Plympton Priory]] owned land at Sutton and secured a charter from [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] in 1254 granting the priory the right to hold a weekly market and annual fair at Sutton, making it a [[market town]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Neill |title=The day Plymouth opened for business 27th January 1254 |url=https://oldplymouthsociety.net/the-day-plymouth-opened-for-business-27th-january-1254/ |website=Old Plymouth Society |access-date=13 August 2023 |date=March 2012}}</ref>

=== Early defence and Renaissance ===
[[File:Prysten House, Plymouth.jpg|left|thumb|[[Prysten House]] (1498) on Finewell Street is the oldest surviving house in Plymouth, built from local Plymouth limestone and [[Dartmoor]] granite.]]
During the [[Hundred Years' War]] a French attack in 1340 burned a manor house and took some prisoners, but failed to get into the town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sumption |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V6vghfDY7loC |title=The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-8122-1655-5 |page=347 |chapter=Sluys and Tournai: The War of the Alberts |access-date=29 June 2008 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222309/https://books.google.com/books?id=V6vghfDY7loC |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1403 the town was burned by [[Breton people|Breton raiders]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Devon timeline |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/100323/1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505082701/http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/100323/1.html |archive-date=5 May 2008 |access-date=29 June 2008 |publisher=[[Devon]] County Council}}</ref> On 12 November 1439 the market town of Sutton was incorporated as a [[borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] and formally renamed Plymouth, with a subsequent charter the following year formalising its boundaries. It was the first time a borough charter had been issued by [[Parliament of England|parliament]] rather than directly from the monarch.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hawkyard |first1=A. D. K. |title=Plymouth Borough |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/plymouth |website=The History of Parliament |access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=24 June 2013 |title=Place Names |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Place-Names.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927031814/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Place-Names.htm |archive-date=27 September 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref>

In the late fifteenth century, [[Plymouth Castle]], a "castle quadrate", was constructed close to the area now known as The Barbican; it included four round towers, one at each corner, as featured on the city coat of arms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth City Council: coat of arms |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/aboutus/lordmayoralty/coatofarms.htm |access-date=20 February 2015 |archive-date=16 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316011429/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/aboutus/lordmayoralty/coatofarms.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Plymouth 1540.png|left|thumb|Charter map of Sutton harbour and Plymouth in 1540]]
The castle served to protect [[Sutton Harbour|Sutton Pool]], which is where the fleet was based in Plymouth prior to the establishment of [[HMNB Devonport|Plymouth Dockyard]]. In 1512, an Act of Parliament was passed to further fortify Plymouth. The work included defensive walls at the entrance to Sutton Pool (across which a chain was extended in times of danger).<ref>{{cite web |title=Magna Britannia: Volume 6, Devonshire – Parishes: Pancras Week – Plymouth : British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol6/pp381-408#h3-0011 |access-date=20 February 2015 |archive-date=20 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220214203/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol6/pp381-408#h3-0011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Defences on [[St Nicholas Island]] also date from this time, and a string of six artillery [[blockhouse]]s were built, including one on Fishers Nose at the south-eastern corner of the Hoe.<ref>See [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/a/zoomify82820.html 1591 Spry Map of Plimmouth and surrounding areas, British Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519121154/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/a/zoomify82820.html |date=19 May 2017 }}</ref> This location was further strengthened by the building of a fort (later known as Drake's Fort) in 1596; it was the site of the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Citadel]], established in the 1660s (see below).<ref>{{cite web |title=Drake's Fort and the Royal Citadel |url=http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/royal_citadel.html |access-date=6 November 2019 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041732/http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/royal_citadel.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Plymouth siege map 1643.gif|left|thumb|[[Siege of Plymouth]], 1643]]
During the 16th century, locally produced wool was the major export commodity.<ref name="slaves">{{cite web |title=Slave Ships in Plymouth |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/leisureandtourism/libraries/whatsinyourlibrary/lns/slaveryandabolition/slavetradetriangle/plymouthslaveships.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609015200/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/leisureandtourism/libraries/whatsinyourlibrary/lns/slaveryandabolition/slavetradetriangle/plymouthslaveships.htm |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=26 July 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> Plymouth was the home port for successful maritime traders, among them [[Sir John Hawkins]], who led England's first foray into the [[Atlantic slave trade]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Adventurers and Slavers |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/early_times/adventurers.htm |access-date=13 October 2007 |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |archive-date=26 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235727/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/early_times/adventurers.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as Sir [[Francis Drake]], Mayor of Plymouth in 1581–2. Crews for the first English failed settlement attempt at [[Roanoke Colony]] in North America departed in 1587 under Sir [[Walter Raleigh]]'s and Drake's leadership; returning bearing maize, tobacco and [[potatoes]].
In 1588, according to legend, Drake insisted on completing his game of bowls on the [[Plymouth Hoe|Hoe]] before engaging the [[Spanish Armada]].<ref name="drake">{{cite web |title=Sir Francis Drake |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/francis_drake.shtml |access-date=24 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222312/https://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/4ce2251c28db82aa892a105b718dba4d6a74c327.gif |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1620 the [[Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] set sail for the [[New World]] from Plymouth, establishing [[Plymouth Colony]] – the second English colony in what is now the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kellogg |first=William O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKhRlkY278QC |title=American History the Easy Way: The Easy Way |publisher=Barron's |year=2003 |isbn=0-7641-1973-7 |edition=3rd |series=Barron's Educational Series |location=Hauppauge, N.Y. |page=20 |access-date=14 November 2008 |archive-date=20 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120002039/https://books.google.com/books?id=mKhRlkY278QC |url-status=live }}</ref>  In 1625, the Mayor estimated that African slavers captured that summer about 1,000 villagers from the town's area, to be sold in Africa.<ref name=WG>{{cite book |author1=Giles Milton |author1-link=Giles Milton |title=White Gold • The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves |date=2005 |publisher=Isis Publishing Ltd |location=Oxford |isbn=0-7531-5647-4 |language=en |chapter=A New and Deadly Foe |quote=By the end of the dreadful summer of 1625, the mayor of Plymouth reckoned that 1,000 skiffs had been destroyed, and a similar number of villagers carried off into slavery.  These miserable captives were taken to Salé, on Morocco |edition=Large Print |page=14 |orig-date=2004 }}</ref>
[[File:English Ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 RMG BHC0262.jpg|left|thumb|The 'invincible' [[Spanish Armada]], 1588]]
During the [[English Civil War]] Plymouth sided with the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] and was [[Siege of Plymouth|besieged]] for almost four years by the [[Cavalier|Royalists]].<ref name="civilwar">{{cite web |date=6 January 2003 |title=Siege |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series2/siege_civil_war_plymouth.shtml |access-date=6 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222314/https://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/2843332958e858bbee113ba55d5d94b7efdb56fa.css |url-status=live }}</ref> The last major attack by the Royalists was by Sir [[Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet|Richard Grenville]] leading thousands of soldiers towards Plymouth, but they were defeated by the Plymothians at Freedom Fields Park.<ref name="civilwar" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Jenny Mashford |title=Plymouth City Council – Freedom Fields Park |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/freedomfieldspark |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728080413/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/freedomfieldspark |archive-date=28 July 2014}}</ref> The civil war ended as a Parliamentary win, but monarchy was restored by [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] in 1660, who imprisoned many of the Parliamentary heroes on [[Drake's Island]].<ref name="civilwar" /> Construction of the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Royal Citadel]] began in 1665, after [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]]; it was armed with cannon facing both out to sea and into the town, rumoured to be a reminder to residents not to oppose [[the Crown]].<ref name="citadel">{{cite web |date=25 January 2008 |title=Coast Walks: Point 3 – The Citadel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/07/coast05walks_stage3_feature.shtml |access-date=5 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/2843332958e858bbee113ba55d5d94b7efdb56fa.css |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mount Batten]] tower also dates from around this time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jewitt |first=Llewellynn Frederick |title=A history of Plymouth |publisher=Oxford University |year=1873 |page=648}}</ref>

=== Plymouth Dock, naval power and Foulston ===
[[File:John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport.jpg|thumb|right|[[John Foulston]]'s Town Hall, Column and Library in [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]]]]
[[File:Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth taking leave of their lovers who are going to Botany Bay.jpeg|thumb|right|Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth mourning their lovers, who are soon to be transported to [[Botany Bay]], 1792]]
[[File:Unloading mail by hand from the Sir Francis Drake, March 1926.png|thumb|right|Unloading mail by hand from the ''Sir Francis Drake'' at [[Millbay Docks]], March 1926]]
Throughout the 17th century, Plymouth had gradually lost its pre-eminence as a trading port. By the mid-17th century, commodities manufactured elsewhere in England cost too much to transport to Plymouth, and the city had no means of processing sugar or tobacco imports, major products from the colonies. Local sailors turning to piracy such as [[Henry Every]] became infamous, celebrated in the London play [[The Successful Pyrate]]. It played a part in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] during the early 18th century, although it was relatively small.<ref name="slaves" />

In the nearby parish of [[Stoke Damerel]] the first dockyard, [[HMNB Devonport]], opened in 1690 on the eastern bank of the [[River Tamar]]. Further docks were built here in 1727, 1762 and 1793.<ref name="brief history">{{cite web |title=Brief history of Plymouth |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/heritageandhistory/lns/plymouthhistory.htm |access-date=20 July 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=26 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726140047/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/heritageandhistory/lns/plymouthhistory.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The settlement that developed here was called "Dock" or "Plymouth Dock" at the time,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carrington |first=Henry Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ve4GAAAAQAAJ |title=The Plymouth and Devonport guide |publisher=Oxford University |year=1828 |page=1 |access-date=5 July 2008 |archive-date=1 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801223244/https://books.google.com/books?id=vE4GAAAAQAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a new town, separate from Plymouth, grew up. In 1712 there were 318 men employed and by 1733 the population had grown to 3,000 people.<ref name="early history" />

Before the latter half of the 18th century, grain, timber and then coal were Plymouth's main imports.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cargo and Trade, Ocean Landing Pier |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/millbay_docks_20-24.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611025507/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/millbay_docks_20-24.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2008 |access-date=26 July 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery}}</ref> During this time the real source of wealth was from the neighbouring town of Plymouth Dock (renamed in 1824 to Devonport) and the major employer in the entire region was the dockyard.<ref name="early history" /> The ''[[Three Towns]]'' conurbation of Plymouth, [[Stonehouse, Plymouth|Stonehouse]] and [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]] enjoyed some prosperity during the late 18th and early 19th century and were enriched by a series of [[neoclassical architecture|neo-classical]] urban developments designed by London architect [[John Foulston]].<ref name="pdfoul">{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=3 December 2011 |title=John Foulston (1772–1842) |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/PP-Foulston.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515165809/http://www.plymouthdata.info/PP-Foulston.htm |archive-date=15 May 2012 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> Foulston was important for both Devonport and Plymouth and was responsible for several grand public buildings, many now destroyed,<ref>{{cite web |title=Devonport, Devon |url=http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/GeorgianWestAndIreland/GeorgianEclecticism/DevonportDevon.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518052806/http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/GeorgianWestAndIreland/GeorgianEclecticism/DevonportDevon.aspx |archive-date=18 May 2013 |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=Architecture.com}}</ref> including the Athenaeum, the [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]] and Royal Hotel, and much of [[Union Street, Plymouth|Union Street]].<ref name="pdfoul" />

Local chemist [[William Cookworthy]] established his short-lived [[Plymouth Porcelain]] venture in 1768 to exploit the deposits of [[china clay]] that he had discovered in Cornwall. He was acquainted with engineer [[John Smeaton]], the builder of the third [[Smeaton's Tower|Eddystone Lighthouse]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Information Sheet: Cookworthy's Plymouth Porcelain |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/an_introduction_to_cookworthy_and_plymouth_porcelain.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192832/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/an_introduction_to_cookworthy_and_plymouth_porcelain.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=23 April 2016 |publisher=Plymouth City Council }}</ref>
[[File:A. R. Quinton, Plymouth the Hoe.jpg|thumb|Plymouth the Hoe (postcard c. 1920) by [[A. R. Quinton|A.R. Quinton]] ]]
[[File:A. R. Quinton, Plymouth the Promenade Pier.jpg|thumb|Plymouth the Promenade Pier (postcard c. 1925) by [[A. R. Quinton]] ]]
The {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|0}} Breakwater in Plymouth Sound was designed by [[John Rennie the Elder|John Rennie]] to protect the fleet moving in and out of Devonport; work started in 1812. Numerous technical difficulties and repeated storm damage meant that it was not completed until 1841, twenty years after Rennie's death.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=26 February 2013 |title=Breakwater |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Breakwater.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517174429/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Breakwater.htm |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> In the 1860s, a ring of [[Palmerston forts]] was constructed around the outskirts of Devonport, to protect the dockyard from attack from any direction.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=21 January 2011 |title=Palmerston's Forts and Batteries |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Palmerstons%20Forts.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517164335/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Palmerstons%20Forts.htm |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref>
[[File:Frith Plymouth.jpg|thumb|Plymouth (1860s–1880s) by [[Francis Frith]]]]
Some of the most significant imports to Plymouth from the Americas and Europe during the latter half of the 19th century included maize, wheat, barley, sugar cane, [[guano]], [[sodium nitrate]] and [[phosphate]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=25 August 2012 |title=Imports (Port of Plymouth) |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Imports.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928230526/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Imports.htm |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> Aside from the dockyard in the town of Devonport, industries in Plymouth such as the gasworks, the railways and tramways, and a number of small chemical works had begun to develop in the 19th century, continuing into the 20th century.<ref name="legacy">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth|title=Characteristics of the City of Plymouth (Historical and industrial legacy)|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=24 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609115821/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref>

=== ''Plan for Plymouth'' 1943 ===
During the [[First World War]], Plymouth was the port of entry for many troops from around the [[British Empire|Empire]]. It was developed as a facility for the manufacture of [[munitions]].<ref name="PD-GreatWar">{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=21 February 2013 |title=The Great War, 1914–1918 |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Great%20War.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128035820/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Great%20War.htm |archive-date=28 November 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> Although major units of the Royal Navy moved to the safety of [[Scapa Flow]], Devonport was an important base for escort vessels and repairs. Flying boats operated from Mount Batten.<ref name="PD-GreatWar" />

[[File:Gateway to Royal William Victualling Yard.jpg|thumb|left|[[Royal William Victualling Yard]], [[Stonehouse, Plymouth|Stonehouse]] by [[John Rennie the Younger|Sir John Rennie]], 1825–1833]]
[[File:Plymouth Drake's Island.jpg|thumb|Plymouth Drake's Island (1860s–1880s) by [[Francis Frith]]]]
During the Second World War, [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] was the headquarters of [[Western Approaches Command]] until 1941, and [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland]] flying boats were operated by the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]. It was an important embarkation point for US troops for [[D-Day]].<ref>{{cite web |title=D-Day in Plymouth, Uk, And American Infantry |url=http://www.cyber-heritage.co.uk/waiting/day.htm |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=Cyber-heritage.co.uk |archive-date=4 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404010138/http://www.cyber-heritage.co.uk/waiting/day.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The city was heavily bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]], in a series of 59 raids known as the [[Plymouth Blitz]].<ref name="legacy" /> Although the [[HMNB Devonport|dockyards]] were the principal targets, much of the city centre and over 3,700 houses were completely destroyed and more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives. This was largely due to Plymouth's status as a major port.<ref name="gillww2">{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=Crispin |title=Plymouth. A New History |publisher=Devon Books |year=1993 |isbn=0-86114-882-7 |pages=259–262}}</ref> [[Charles Church, Plymouth|Charles Church]] was hit by [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]] and partially destroyed in 1941 during the Blitz, but has not been demolished. It has been designated as an official permanent monument to the bombing of Plymouth during World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 November 2005 |title=Frosty response to church climb |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/4444690.stm |access-date=22 November 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115042703/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4444690.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The redevelopment of the city was planned by [[Patrick Abercrombie|Sir Patrick Abercrombie]] in his 1943 ''Plan for Plymouth'' whilst simultaneously working on the reconstruction plan for London.<ref name="jeremy">{{Cite book |last=Gould |first=Jeremy |title=Architecture and the Plan for Plymouth: The Legacy of a British City |date=March 2007 |publisher=Architectural Review}}</ref> This initially included plans to expand the city into [[Caradon|south east Cornwall]], but these were abandoned after opposition from [[Cornwall County Council]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Philip Payton |author1-link=Philip Payton |title=Inconvenient Peripheries: Ethnic Identity and the "United Kingdom Estate" - the cases of "Protestant Ulster" and Cornwall |journal=Contemporary Political Studies |date=1996 |volume=1 |pages=395–408 |publisher=[[Political Studies Association]]}}</ref> Between 1951 and 1957 over 1000 homes were completed every year, mostly using innovative prefabricated systems of just three main types.<ref name="EHModern">{{Cite book |last=Gould |first=Jeremy |title=Plymouth; Vision of a Modern City |publisher=English Heritage |year=2010}}</ref>

The ''Plan for Plymouth'' was, on the one hand, a template for the rapid reassembly of a destroyed city centre, but Abercrombie also took the opportunity to lay out a whole hierarchy of settlements across the city of communities, neighbourhoods and districts. Central to this was a revision of transport infrastructure that prioritised the position of the railway as a gateway to the city centre and provided in the long-term for a dual carriageway road by-pass that only finally came into being in the 1980s (forty years after being planned). The plan is the subject of [[Jill Craigie]]'s documentary ''The Way We Live'' (1946).

By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, transforming the dense overcrowded and unsanitary slums of the pre-war city into a low density, dispersed suburbia.<ref name="EHModern" /><ref name="gillredev">{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=Crispin |title=Plymouth. A New History |publisher=Devon Books |year=1993 |isbn=0-86114-882-7 |pages=262–267}}</ref> Most of the city centre shops had been destroyed and those that remained were cleared to enable a zoned reconstruction according to his plan.<ref name="EHModern" /><ref name="gillredev" /> In 1962 the [[modernist]] high rise of the [[Plymouth Civic Centre|Civic Centre]] was constructed, an architecturally significant example of mid-twentieth century civic slab-and-tower set piece. The [[Plymouth City Council]] allowed it to fall into disrepair but it was [[grade II listed]] in 2007 by [[English Heritage]] to prevent its demolition.<ref name="EHModern" /><ref>{{cite web |date=15 October 2010 |title=Sale of Plymouth Civic Centre |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/sale-of-plymouth-civic-centre/ |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=English Heritage |archive-date=7 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807142523/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/sale-of-plymouth-civic-centre/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Post-war, Devonport Dockyard was kept busy refitting aircraft carriers such as the {{HMS|Ark Royal|R09|2}} and, later, [[nuclear submarines]]. New light industrial factories were constructed in the newly [[zoning|zoned]] industrial sector, attracting rapid growth of the urban population. The army had substantially left the city by 1971, after barracks were pulled down in the 1960s,<ref name="gillredev" /> but the city remains home to [[29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/members-29-commandment-regiment-royal-7081759 |title=Members of the 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery make Plymouth 'proud' |last=Simpson |first=Zhara |date=14 May 2022 |website=www.plymouthherald.co.uk |publisher=Local World Holdings Ltd |access-date=27 June 2022}}</ref> and also [[42 Commando]] of the [[Royal Marines]].<ref name="gillredev" />

==Governance==
As a [[Unitary authorities in England|unitary authority]] there is only one tier of local government covering Plymouth. [[Plymouth City Council]] meets at the [[Plymouth Civic Centre|Council House]] on Armada Way in the city centre. There are no [[civil parish]]es in the city, which is an [[unparished area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=11 August 2023}}</ref> The city forms part of the [[ceremonial county]] of Devon for the purposes of [[Lieutenancy area|lieutenancy]], but has been administratively independent from [[Devon County Council]] since it became a unitary authority in 1998.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Lieutenancies Act 1997|year=1997|chapter=23|access-date=11 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) (Structural Change) Order 1996|year=1996|number=1865|access-date=11 August 2023}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
The first record of the existence of a settlement at Plymouth was in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086 as ''Sudtone'' (Sutton), Saxon for south farm, located at the present-day [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]].<ref name="brief history" /> From Saxon times, it was in the [[Hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] of [[Roborough (hundred)|Roborough]].<ref name="genuki-devonhundreds">{{cite web |title=The hundreds of devon |url=http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Hundreds.html |access-date=18 June 2011 |website=GENUKI |archive-date=27 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427064112/http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Hundreds.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Sutton became a market town in 1254 and a borough in 1439, when it was formally renamed Plymouth.<ref name="brief history" />

Plymouth was reformed to become a [[municipal borough]] in 1836, governed by a corporate body officially called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Plymouth", but generally known as the corporation or town council.<ref>[[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]]</ref> When elected county councils were established in 1889, both Plymouth and neighbouring Devonport were considered large enough to provide their own county-level services and so they were made [[county borough]]s, independent from [[Devon County Council]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1888|year=1888|chapter=41|access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref> In 1914 the county boroughs of Plymouth and Devonport and the adjoining [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]] of [[East Stonehouse]] were merged to form a single county borough of Plymouth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Government Board's Provisional Order Confirmation (No. 18) Act 1914 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/4-5/183/pdfs/ukla_19140183_en.pdf |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="early history" /> Collectively they were referred to as "[[Three Towns|The Three Towns]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 1914 |title=Three Towns Amalgamation |work=The Times |location=UK}}</ref>

Plymouth was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 18 October 1928.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 October 1928 |title=The City of Plymouth |work=The Times |location=UK}}</ref> Between 1439 and 1935, Plymouth had a mayor.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Mayors and Lord Mayors from 1439 to date |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/lordmayoralty/mayors.htm |access-date=8 December 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=3 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203200953/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/lordmayoralty/mayors.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1935 the city was given the right to appoint a Lord Mayor. The city's boundaries further expanded in 1967 to include the town of [[Plympton]] and the [[civil parish|parish]] of [[Plymstock]].<ref name="early history" />

The 1971 [[Local Government Act 1972|Local Government White Paper]] proposed abolishing county boroughs, which would have left Plymouth, a town of 250,000 people, being administered from a council based at the smaller [[Exeter]], on the other side of the county. This led to Plymouth lobbying for the creation of a Tamarside county, to include Plymouth, [[Torpoint]], [[Saltash]], and the rural [[hinterland]].<ref>{{cite web |date=21 March 1972 |title=South West Regional Office of the Labour Party archives |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=002-38423&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18 |access-date=20 July 2008 |publisher=The National Archives |pages=38423/32 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521223019/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=002-38423&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18 |url-status=live }}</ref> The campaign was not successful, and Plymouth ceased to be a county borough on 1 April 1974 with responsibility for education, social services, highways and libraries transferred to [[Devon County Council]]. All powers returned when the city became a [[unitary authority]] on 1 April 1998 under recommendations of the [[Local Government Commission for England (1992)|Banham Commission]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Department of the Environment |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961865_en_1.htm |title=The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) (Structural Change) Order 1996 |date=18 July 1996 |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information]] |isbn=0-11-062779-2 |access-date=26 July 2008 |archive-date=8 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808154815/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961865_en_1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Constituencies===
In the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], Plymouth is represented by the three [[List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|constituencies]] of [[Plymouth Moor View (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth Moor View]], [[Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth Sutton and Devonport]] and [[Devon South West (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Devon]]. Prior to [[Brexit]] in 2020 it was represented within the [[European Parliament]] as [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England]].<ref name="elected representatives">{{cite web |title=Elected representatives |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/electedrepresentatives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609032951/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/electedrepresentatives |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=1 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref>

In 1919, [[Nancy Astor]] was elected the first-ever female member of parliament to take office in the British Houses of Parliament for the constituency of [[Plymouth Sutton]]. She was elected to the seat vacated by her husband [[Waldorf Astor]] on his elevation to the peerage. Lady Astor was a vibrantly active campaigner for her resident constituents.

In 1945, Plymouth-born [[Michael Foot]] was elected Labour MP for the constituency of [[Plymouth Devonport (UK Parliament constituency)|Plymouth Devonport]] which had been heavily damaged in the [[Plymouth Blitz]]. He represented the seat until 1955. After serving as Secretary of State for Education and being responsible for the [[Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974]], he went on to become the leader of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] (1980–1983).

=== City Council ===
{{Main|Plymouth City Council}}
[[File:Civic Centre, Plymouth from Dingles Restaurant 2024.jpg|thumb|[[Plymouth Civic Centre|Civic Centre]], completed 1962, symbolic of the post-war 'Heroic Modernism' of the [[welfare state]]; a [[listed building]] since 2007]]

The City of Plymouth is divided into 20 [[Ward (politics)|wards]], 17 of which elect three councillors and the other three electing two councillors, making up a total council of 57.<ref name="wards">{{cite web |title=Plymouth wards |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/electoral/electedrepresentatives/wards.htm |access-date=27 October 2009 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=30 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430155743/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/electoral/electedrepresentatives/wards.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four year term.<ref name="wards" /> The total [[Wiktionary:electorate|electorate]] for Plymouth's Parliamentary constituencies was 190,006 in April 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Analysis Parliamentary Electorate Totals for March 2019 Register |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/March%202019%20Parliamentary%20constituency%20electorate_0.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=16 January 2021 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122043046/https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/March%202019%20Parliamentary%20constituency%20electorate_0.pdf }}</ref> Since May 2023 Plymouth has had a Labour majority Council.<ref>{{cite web|title=Councillors, committees and meetings {{!}} PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK|url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/councillorscommitteesandmeetings|access-date=13 December 2021|website=plymouth.gov.uk|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924080210/https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/councillorscommitteesandmeetings|url-status=live}}</ref> Plymouth City Council is formally [[twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with: [[Brest, France|Brest]], France (1963), [[Gdynia]], Poland (1976), [[Novorossiysk]], Russia (1990 <small>''Suspended 2022''</small><ref>{{cite web |url=https://democracy.plymouth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=276&MID=9725#AI101107 |title=Agenda and minutes City Council - Monday 21 March 2022 2.00 pm }}</ref>) [[San Sebastián]], Spain (1990) and [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]], United States (2001).<ref>{{cite web |title=Twin towns |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/twintowns.htm |access-date=6 June 2015 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=2 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502210154/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/twintowns.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth was granted the dignity of [[Lord Mayor]] by King [[George V]] in 1935. The position is elected each year by a group of six councillors.<ref name="lord mayoralty">{{cite web |title=Lord Mayoralty |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/aboutus/lordmayoralty.htm |access-date=2 December 2015 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=22 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122103825/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/councilanddemocracy/aboutus/lordmayoralty.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is traditional that the position of the Lord Mayor alternates between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party annually and that the Lord Mayor chooses the Deputy Lord Mayor.<ref name="lord mayoralty" />

[[File:Great Hall - Plymouth Guildhall.jpg|thumb|right|The Great Hall in the [[Plymouth Guildhall|Guildhall]]]]
The Lord Mayor's official residence is 3 Elliot Terrace, located on [[Plymouth Hoe|the Hoe]].<ref name="elliot">{{cite web |title=Elliot Terrace |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/elliotterrace |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210090246/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/elliotterrace |archive-date=10 February 2008 |access-date=16 February 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> Once a home of [[Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor|Waldorf]] and [[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Nancy Astor]], it was given by Lady Astor to the City of Plymouth as an official residence for future Lord Mayors and is also used today for civic hospitality, as lodgings for visiting dignitaries and High Court judges and it is also available to hire for private events.<ref name="elliot" /> The Civic Centre municipal office building in Armada Way became a [[listed building]] in June 2007 because of its quality and period features, but has become the centre of a controversy as the council planned for its demolition estimating that it could cost £40m to refurbish it, resulting in possible job losses.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 July 2007 |title=Council opposes building listing |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/6289546.stm |access-date=20 November 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115064331/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6289546.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{See also|List of places in Plymouth}}
[[File:Plymouth Sound.jpg|thumb|right|Northeastward view of [[Plymouth Sound]] from [[Mount Edgcumbe Country Park]] in Cornwall, with [[Drake's Island]] (centre) and, behind it from left to right, the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Royal Citadel]], the fuel tanks of [[Cattedown]], and [[Mount Batten]]; in the background, the hills of [[Dartmoor]].]]
Plymouth lies between the [[River Plym]] to the east and the [[River Tamar]] to the west; both rivers flow into the natural harbour of [[Plymouth Sound]].<ref name="tamar">{{cite web |date=6 February 2008 |title=Devon's rivers: The Tamar |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/rivers/tamar.shtml |access-date=8 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=30 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430080407/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/rivers/tamar.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 1967, the [[unitary authority]] of Plymouth has included the, once independent, towns of [[Plympton]] and [[Plymstock]] which lie along the east of the River Plym.<ref name="early history" /> The River Tamar forms the county boundary between [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] and its estuary forms the [[Hamoaze]] on which is sited [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]].<ref name="tamar" />

The River Plym, which flows off [[Dartmoor]] to the north-east, forms a smaller estuary to the east of the city called [[Cattewater]]. [[Plymouth Sound]] is protected from the sea by the [[Plymouth Breakwater]], in use since 1814.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Otter |first=R. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HG-l2kpKPFUC |title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England |publisher=Thomas Telford |year=1994 |isbn=0-7277-1971-8 |page=48 |chapter=The Tamar Valley and Plymouth |access-date=8 July 2008 |archive-date=21 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021044553/https://books.google.com/books?id=HG-l2kpKPFUC |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Sound is [[Drake's Island]] which is seen from [[Plymouth Hoe]], a flat public area on top of [[limestone]] cliffs.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1QDAAAAMAAJ&q=Plymouth+Hoe+limestone |title=Report and Transactions |publisher=Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science |year=1877 |volume=9 |page=426 |access-date=11 July 2008 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104084018/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1QDAAAAMAAJ&q=Plymouth+Hoe+limestone |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Unitary Authority]] of Plymouth is {{convert|{{English district area||GSS=E06000026}}|km2|mi2}}.<ref name="auto" /> The topography rises from sea level to a height, at [[Roborough, South Hams|Roborough]], of about {{convert|509|ft|m}} above [[Ordnance Datum]] (AOD).<ref name="geography">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth|title=Characteristics of the City of Plymouth (The geography)|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=25 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609115821/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref>

Geologically, Plymouth has a mixture of limestone, Devonian [[slate]], [[granite]] and Middle [[Devonian]] limestone.<ref name="geology">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth|title=Characteristics of the City of Plymouth (The geology)|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=26 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609115821/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref> [[Plymouth Sound, Shores and Cliffs]] is a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], because of its geology.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth Sound Shores and Cliffs |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000130.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218023342/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000130.pdf |archive-date=18 December 2008 |access-date=27 November 2008 |publisher=[[Natural England]]}}</ref> The bulk of the city is built upon Upper Devonian slates and shales and the headlands at the entrance to Plymouth Sound are formed of Lower Devonian slates, which can withstand the power of the sea.<ref name="geology" />

A band of Middle Devonian limestone runs west to east from [[Cremyll]] to [[Plymstock]] including the Hoe.<ref name="geology" /> Local limestone may be seen in numerous buildings, walls and pavements throughout Plymouth.<ref name="geology" /> To the north and northeast of the city is the granite mass of Dartmoor; the granite was mined and exported via Plymouth. Rocks brought down the Tamar from Dartmoor include ores containing tin, copper, [[tungsten]], lead and other minerals.<ref name="geology" /> There is evidence that the middle Devonian limestone belt at the south edge of Plymouth and in Plymstock was quarried at West Hoe, Cattedown and Radford.<ref name="limestone">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth|title=Characteristics of the City of Plymouth (Limestone)|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=26 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609115821/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/characteristicsplymouth <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref>

=== Urban form ===
[[File:Armada Way, Plymouth - geograph.org.uk - 83458.jpg|thumb|right|Armada Way looking north]]
On 27 April 1944 [[Patrick Abercrombie|Sir Patrick Abercrombie's]] ''Plan for Plymouth'' to rebuild the bomb-damaged city was published; it called for demolition of the few remaining pre-War buildings in the city centre to make way for their replacement with wide, parallel, modern [[boulevard]]s aligned east–west linked by a north–south [[Avenue (landscape)|avenue]] (Armada Way) linking the railway station with the vista of Plymouth Hoe.<ref name="jeremy" />

A peripheral road system connecting the historic Barbican on the east and Union Street to the west determines the principal form of the city centre, even following pedestrianisation of the shopping centre in the late 1980s, and continues to inform the present 'Vision for Plymouth' developed by a team led by Barcelona-based architect [[David Mackay (architect)|David MacKay]] in 2003 which calls for revivification of the city centre with mixed-use and residential.<ref name="vision" />

In suburban areas, post-War [[Prefabricated home|prefabs]] had already begun to appear by 1946, and over 1,000 permanent [[council house]]s were built each year from 1951 to 1957 according to the [[Urban planning#Modern urban planning|Modernist]] [[zoning|zoned]] low-density [[garden city movement|garden city]] model advocated by Abercrombie.<ref name="gillredev" /> By 1964 over 20,000 new homes had been built, more than 13,500 of them permanent council homes and 853 built by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]].<ref name="gillredev" />

Plymouth is home to 28 parks with an average size of {{convert|45638|m2}}.<ref name="parks">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/parksandopenspaces|title=Parks and open spaces|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=1 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609073630/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/parksandopenspaces <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref> Its largest park is [[Central Park, Plymouth|Central Park]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Central Park |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/centralpark |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609130836/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/centralpark |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=17 February 2009 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> with other sizeable green spaces including [[Victoria Park, Millbridge, Plymouth|Victoria Park]], [[Lipson|Freedom Fields Park]], Alexandra Park, [[Devonport Park]] and the Hoe.<ref name="parks" /> Central Park is the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club and a number of other leisure facilities.

The Plymouth Plan 2019–2034 was published May 2019 and sets the direction for future development with a new spatial strategy<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/PPRefresh%20with%20covers.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806081727/https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/PPRefresh%20with%20covers.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> which reinforces links with the wider region in west Devon and east Cornwall in its Joint Local Plan and identifies three development areas within the city: the City centre and waterfront; a 'northern corridor' including Derriford and the vacant airfield site at [[Roborough, South Hams|Roborough]]; and an 'eastern corridor' including major new settlements at [[Sherford (new town)|Sherford]] and [[Langage, Devon|Langage]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Plan|first=The Plymouth|date=29 March 2021|title=The new plan for South Hams, West Devon and…|url=https://plymswdevonplan.co.uk/policy|access-date=29 March 2021|website=The Plymouth Plan|language=en|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806104644/https://plymswdevonplan.co.uk/policy|url-status=live}}</ref> Plymouth is categorized as a Small-Port City using the Southampton System for port-city classification.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1080/03088839.2020.1802785|title=The Southampton system: A new universal standard approach for port-city classification|year=2021|last1=Roberts|first1=Toby|last2=Williams|first2=Ian|last3=Preston|first3=John|journal=Maritime Policy & Management|volume=48|issue=4|pages=530–542|s2cid=225502755|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
Plymouth has a moderated temperate [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfb'') which is wetter and milder than the rest of England. This means a wide range of exotic plants, palm trees, and yuccas can be cultivated. The annual mean high temperature is approximately {{convert|14|°C|°F|0}}. Due to the moderating effect of the sea and the south-westerly location, the climate is among the mildest of British cities, and one of the warmest UK cities in winter.<ref name="hku">{{cite web |title=Climatological Normals of Plymouth – 1961–1990 |url=http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/uk/plymouth_e.htm |access-date=9 June 2008 |website=Climatological Information for United Kingdom and Ireland |publisher=[[Hong Kong Observatory]] |archive-date=24 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524173641/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/uk/plymouth_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The coldest month of February is similarly moderate, having mild mean minimum temperatures between {{convert|3|and|4|°C|°F|0}}. Snow usually falls in small amounts but a noteworthy recent exception was the period of the [[Winter of 2009–10 in Europe|European winter storms of 2009–10]] which, in early January 2010, covered Plymouth in at least {{convert|1|in|cm|order=flip}} of snow; more on higher ground. Another notable event was the {{convert|8|in|cm|order=flip}} of snowfall between 17 and 19 December 2010 – though only {{convert|2|in|cm|order=flip}} would lie at any one time due to melting. Over the 1961–1990 period, annual snowfall accumulation averaged less than {{convert|7|cm|0|abbr=on}} per year.<ref name="NOAA">{{Cite FTP |title=Climatological Normals of Plymouth – 1961–1990 |url=ftp://dossier.ogp.noaa.gov/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-VI/UK/03827.TXT |server=NOAA |url-status=dead |access-date=9 June 2011 }}</ref>

South West England has a favoured location when the [[Azores High]] pressure area extends north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Coastal areas have average annual sunshine totals over 1,600 hours.<ref name="weather" />

Owing to its geographic location, rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic [[Low pressure area|depressions]] or with convection and is more frequent and heavier than in London and southeast England. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average annual rainfall is around {{convert|980|mm|in|0}}. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.<ref name="weather">{{cite web| url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/location/southwestengland/index.html|title=About south-west England|publisher=The [[Met Office]]|access-date=28 May 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060225164404/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/location/southwestengland/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 25 February 2006}}</ref>

Typically, the warmest day of the year (1971–2000) will achieve a temperature of {{convert|28.6|°C|°F|0}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Average warmest day |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TXx&stationid=2131 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175441/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TXx&stationid=2131 |url-status=live }}</ref> although in July 2022 the temperature reached {{convert|33.9|C|F}},<ref>{{cite web |title=1976 High |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=0&year=1976&indexid=TXx&stationid=1814 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175506/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=0&year=1976&indexid=TXx&stationid=1814 |url-status=live }}</ref> the site record. On average, 4.25 days<ref>{{cite web |title=>25.1c days |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SU&stationid=1814 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175515/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SU&stationid=1814 |url-status=live }}</ref> of the year will report a maximum temperature of {{convert|25.1|°C|°F|0}} or above. During the winter half of the year, the coldest night will typically fall to {{convert|-4.1|°C|°F|0}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Average coldest night |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TNn&stationid=1814 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175519/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TNn&stationid=1814 |url-status=live }}</ref> although in January 1979 the temperature fell to {{convert|-8.8|°C|°F|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=1979 minimum |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=0&year=1979&indexid=TNn&stationid=1814 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175523/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=0&year=1979&indexid=TNn&stationid=1814 |url-status=live }}</ref> Typically, 18.6 nights<ref>{{cite web |title=Frost average |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=FD&stationid=1814 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521175539/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=FD&stationid=1814 |url-status=live }}</ref> of the year will register an air frost.

{{Weather box
| location = Plymouth ([[Mount Batten]]){{efn|Weather station is located {{convert|1.6|mi|1|abbr=out}} from the Plymouth city centre.}}<br>[[Location identifier#WMO station identifiers|WMO ID]]: 03827; coordinates {{coord|50.35489|N|4.12103|W|type:landmark_region:GB|name=Met Office Plymouth|format=dms}}; elevation: {{convert|50|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1960–present
| collapsed = 
| metric first = y
| single line = y
| Jan record high C = 14.4
| Feb record high C = 16.3
| Mar record high C = 18.3
| Apr record high C = 27.6
| May record high C = 25.9
| Jun record high C = 31.6
| Jul record high C = 33.9
| Aug record high C = 32.9
| Sep record high C = 28.9
| Oct record high C = 23.0
| Nov record high C = 17.8
| Dec record high C = 16.1
| year record high C = 33.9
| Jan high C = 9.0
| Feb high C = 9.2
| Mar high C = 10.9
| Apr high C = 13.2
| May high C = 15.9
| Jun high C = 18.4
| Jul high C = 20.2
| Aug high C = 20.3
| Sep high C = 18.5
| Oct high C = 15.1
| Nov high C = 11.9
| Dec high C = 9.7
| year high C = 14.4
| Jan mean C = 6.6
| Feb mean C = 6.6
| Mar mean C = 7.9
| Apr mean C = 9.8
| May mean C = 12.4
| Jun mean C = 14.9
| Jul mean C = 16.8
| Aug mean C = 16.9
| Sep mean C = 15.1
| Oct mean C = 12.3
| Nov mean C = 9.3
| Dec mean C = 7.3
| year mean C = 11.3
| Jan low C = 4.2
| Feb low C = 3.9
| Mar low C = 4.9
| Apr low C = 6.3
| May low C = 8.8
| Jun low C = 11.4
| Jul low C = 13.2
| Aug low C = 13.4
| Sep low C = 11.7
| Oct low C = 9.5
| Nov low C = 6.7
| Dec low C = 4.8
| year low C = 8.2
| Jan record low C = -8.8
| Feb record low C = -7.0
| Mar record low C = -7.0
| Apr record low C = -2.4
| May record low C = -0.5
| Jun record low C = 2.9
| Jul record low C = 6.1
| Aug record low C = 5.9
| Sep record low C = 1.9
| Oct record low C = -1.0
| Nov record low C = -3.4
| Dec record low C = -5.7
| year record low C = -8.8
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 109.6
| Feb precipitation mm = 87.7
| Mar precipitation mm = 76.2
| Apr precipitation mm = 68.5
| May precipitation mm = 60.1
| Jun precipitation mm = 64.4
| Jul precipitation mm = 63.5
| Aug precipitation mm = 80.3
| Sep precipitation mm = 72.3
| Oct precipitation mm = 112.1
| Nov precipitation mm = 117.8
| Dec precipitation mm = 125.2
| year precipitation mm = 1037.7
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 15.4
| Feb precipitation days = 12.7
| Mar precipitation days = 12.3
| Apr precipitation days = 11.0
| May precipitation days = 9.8
| Jun precipitation days = 9.7
| Jul precipitation days = 10.0
| Aug precipitation days = 11.3
| Sep precipitation days = 10.1
| Oct precipitation days = 14.8
| Nov precipitation days = 15.9
| Dec precipitation days = 15.7
| year precipitation days = 148.6
| Jan sun = 61.8
| Feb sun = 88.0
| Mar sun = 131.0
| Apr sun = 189.3
| May sun = 227.4
| Jun sun = 220.8
| Jul sun = 209.7
| Aug sun = 197.5
| Sep sun = 161.3
| Oct sun = 118.4
| Nov sun = 72.6
| Dec sun = 54.5
| year sun = 
| source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="Met Averages">{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gbvn6nxjm|title= Plymouth 1991–2020 averages |accessdate=15 January 2022|publisher=Met Office}}</ref>
| source 2 = [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute|KNMI]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://eca.knmi.nl//download/millennium/millennium.php| title = Indices Data – Plymouth:MountBatten Station 1814| access-date = 7 March 2019| publisher = [[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]| archive-date = 9 July 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010608/https://eca.knmi.nl//download/millennium/millennium.php| url-status = dead}}</ref>
}}

== Education ==
{{See also|List of schools in Plymouth}}
[[File:Roland Levinsky building.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Roland Levinsky Building]] – Faculty of Arts of the [[University of Plymouth]]]]
There are three universities based in Plymouth, the [[University of Plymouth]], [[Plymouth Marjon University]] and the [[Arts University Plymouth]].

The University of Plymouth enrolls 23,155 total students as of 2018/2019 ([[List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrollment|{{HESA student population rank|INSTID=0073}} largest]] in the UK out of {{HESA total}}).<ref>{{HESA citation}}</ref> It also employs 2,900 staff with an annual income of around £160&nbsp;million.<ref name="uni" /> It was founded in 1992 from Polytechnic South West (formerly Plymouth Polytechnic) following the [[Further and Higher Education Act 1992]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our history |url=https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/your-university/our-stories/150/history |access-date=10 July 2016 |publisher=The [[University of Plymouth]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> It has a wide range of courses including those in marine focused business, marine engineering, marine biology and Earth, ocean and environmental sciences, surf science, shipping and logistics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Undergraduate courses A-Z |url=http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/dynamic.asp?page=atoz&type=u |access-date=18 June 2008 |publisher=The [[University of Plymouth]] |archive-date=23 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223131530/http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/dynamic.asp?page=atoz&type=u |url-status=live }}</ref> The university formed a joint venture with the fellow Devonian [[University of Exeter]] in 2000, establishing the [[Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry]]. The college is ranked 8th out of 30 universities in the UK in 2011 for medicine.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 June 2010 |title=University guide 2011: Medicine |work=The Guardian |location=UK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-medicine |access-date=13 November 2010 |archive-date=20 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420055224/http://www.theguardian.com/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-medicine |url-status=live }}</ref> Its dental school was established in 2006, which also provides free dental care in an attempt to improve access to dental care in the [[South West of England|South West]].

The University of St Mark & St John (known as "Marjon" or "Marjons") specialises in [[Teacher education|teacher training]], and offers training across the country and abroad.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of the University College |url=http://www.marjon.ac.uk/aboutmarjon/history/ |access-date=19 June 2008 |publisher=The [[University College Plymouth St Mark & St John]] |archive-date=16 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416202741/http://www.marjon.ac.uk/aboutmarjon/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Arts University Plymouth offers a selection of courses including media. It was originally founded as the Plymouth Drawing School in 1856, and in December 2008, Plymouth College of Art and Design was renamed to Plymouth College of Art. In May 2022, the College was awarded University status, and became Arts University Plymouth.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-61564503 |title=Plymouth College of Art given university status |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 May 2022 |accessdate=2022-05-25}}</ref>

The city is also home to two large colleges. The [[City College Plymouth]] provides courses from the most basic to [[Foundation degree]]s for approximately 26,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |title=The College |url=http://www.cityplym.ac.uk/index.php?page_id=0156 |access-date=19 June 2008 |publisher=[[City College Plymouth]] |archive-date=5 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105034140/http://www.cityplym.ac.uk/index.php?page_id=0156 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth also has 71 state primary phase schools, 13 state secondary schools, eight special schools and three selective [[state school|state]] [[grammar school]]s, [[Devonport High School for Girls]], [[Devonport High School for Boys]] and [[Plymouth High School for Girls]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Schools |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/education/schools.htm |access-date=19 June 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609020008/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/education/schools.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] all-through school [[Plymouth College]].

The city was also home to the [[Royal Naval Engineering College]]; opened in 1880 in [[Keyham, Devon|Keyham]], it trained engineering students for five years before they completed the remaining two years of the course at Greenwich. The college closed in 1910, but in 1940 a new college opened at [[Manadon]]. This was renamed ''Dockyard Technical College'' in 1959 before finally closing in 1994; training was transferred to the [[University of Southampton]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=1 March 2007 |title=Royal Naval Engineering College HMS Thunderer |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/Royal%20Naval%20Engineering%20College.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106050558/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Royal%20Naval%20Engineering%20College.htm |archive-date=6 November 2010 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref>

Plymouth is home to the [[Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom]] (MBA; founded 1884) which conducts research in all areas of the marine sciences. The [[Plymouth Marine Laboratory]] (PML; founded 1988) was formed in part from components of the MBA. Together with the [[National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth|National Marine Aquarium]], the [[Continuous Plankton Recorder|Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Sciences]], Plymouth University's Marine Institute and the [[Diving Diseases Research Centre]], these marine-related organisations form the Plymouth Marine Sciences Partnership. The Plymouth Marine Laboratory, which focuses on global issues of [[climate change]] and [[sustainability]]. It monitors the effects of ocean acidity on [[coral]]s and [[shellfish]] and reports the results to the UK government. It also cultivates [[algae]] that could be used to make [[biofuel]]s or in the treatment of wastewater by using technology such as [[biochemical engineering|photo-bioreactors]]. It works alongside the [[Boots Group]] to investigate the use of algae in skincare protects, taking advantage of the chemicals they contain that adapt to protect themselves from the sun.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Plymouth Marine Laboratory |url=http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/what-we-do/business-growth/inward-investment/casestudy/viewCaseStudy.asp?id=25 |access-date=12 December 2008 |publisher=[[South West of England Regional Development Agency|South West England RDA]] |archive-date=10 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110095301/http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/what-we-do/business-growth/inward-investment/casestudy/viewCaseStudy.asp?id=25 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A scheme was in operation over summer 2018 to provide meals during the summer holidays for children with parents on a low income, who could not afford to provide their children with healthy meals.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-45009057 Donated food to feed hungry Plymouth school children] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805054434/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-45009057 |date=5 August 2018 }} [[BBC]]</ref>

[[University of Plymouth Students' Union|UPSU]] also known as the University of Plymouth Student Union is based underground near the library. Every student at the University of Plymouth is a member of UPSU. The Union employs students across the University, from bar staff to events technicians. Every year the students at the University have an opportunity to vote which sabbatical officers represent them. In 2019 over 4000 students voted in the UPSU elections.

== Demography ==
[[File:Plymouth population pyramid.svg|thumb|Population pyramid of Plymouth (unitary authority) in 2021]]
<!--[[File:Plymouth population graph.png|frameless|upright=1.8|right]]  -->
From the 2011 Census, the [[Office for National Statistics]] published that Plymouth's unitary authority area population was 256,384;<ref name="ethnicity" /> 15,664 more people than that of the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|last census]] from 2001, which indicated that Plymouth had a population of 240,720.<ref name="census 2001">{{cite web |title=Plymouth UA |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/00HG-A.asp |access-date=15 February 2008 |website=[[United Kingdom Census 2001|Census 2001]] |publisher=The [[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=21 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421055145/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/00HG-A.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The Plymouth [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|urban area]] had a population of 260,203 in 2011 (the [[urban sprawl]] which extends outside the authority's boundaries). The city's average household size was 2.3 persons.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2013 |title=Household Size, 2011 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522542&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2555 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605124109/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522542&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2555 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2013 |title=Household Composition – People, 2011 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522542&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2548 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605063441/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522542&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2548 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time of the 2021 UK census, the ethnic composition of Plymouth's population was 94.1% [[White people|White]] (of 89.5% was [[White British]]), with the largest minority ethnic group being [[British Chinese|Chinese]] at 0.5%.<ref name="ethnicity">{{cite web |date=30 January 2013 |title=Ethnic Group, 2011 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1446922814000&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2575 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=23 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223095946/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1446922814000&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2575 |url-status=live }}</ref> The white Irish ethnic group saw the largest decline in its share of the population since the 2001 Census to 2011 (−24%), while the ''Other Asian'' and Black African had the largest increases (360% and 351% respectively).<ref name="ethnicity" /><ref>{{cite web |date=18 November 2004 |title=Ethnic Group, 2001 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=13&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374089129277&enc=1&dsFamilyId=87 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605075300/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=13&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374089129277&enc=1&dsFamilyId=87 |url-status=live }}</ref> This excludes the two new ethnic groups added to the 2011 census of Gypsy or Irish Traveller and Arab. The population rose rapidly during the second half of the 19th century, but declined by over 1.6% from 1931 to 1951.

Plymouth's [[gross value added]] (a measure of the size of its economy) was [[Pound sterling|£]]5,169&nbsp;million in 2013 making up 25% of [[Devon]]'s GVA.<ref name="GVA">{{cite web |date=December 2014 |title=Regional GVA NUTS3 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2014/rft-nuts3.xls |access-date=3 June 2015 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |format=Excel |archive-date=5 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505002004/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2014/rft-nuts3.xls |url-status=live }}</ref> Its GVA per person was £19,943 and compared to the national average of £23,755, was £3,812 lower.<ref name="GVA" /> Plymouth's unemployment rate was 7.0% in 2014 which was 2.0 points higher than the South West average and 0.8 points higher than the average for Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).<ref>{{cite web |title=All people – Economically active – Unemployed (Model Based) Plymouth |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157352/subreports/ea_time_series/report.pdf?&allInGB=&pdfHeader=All%20people%20-%20Economically%20active%20-%20Unemployed%20(Model%20Based)&pivot=5&sort=&ascending= |access-date=3 June 2015 |publisher=The [[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222351/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157352/subreports/ea_time_series/report.pdf?allInGB=&pdfHeader=All+people+-+Economically+active+-+Unemployed+%28Model+Based%29&pivot=5&sort=&ascending= |url-status=live }}</ref>

A 2014 profile by the [[National Health Service]] showed Plymouth had higher than average levels of poverty and deprivation (26.2% of the population among the poorest 20.4% nationally).<ref name="National Health Service">{{cite web |date=August 2014 |title=Health Profile 2014 Plymouth |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2014/rft-nuts3.xls |access-date=3 June 2015 |publisher=[[National Health Service]] |archive-date=5 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505002004/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2014/rft-nuts3.xls |url-status=live }}</ref> Life expectancy in Plymouth is 78.8 years for men and 82.5 for women<ref>{{Cite web |title=3.1.3 Local trends in life expectancy {{!}} PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/313-local-trends-life-expectancy |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Plymouth City Council |language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! rowspan="3" |Ethnic Group
! colspan="8" |Year
|-
! colspan="2" |1991<ref name=":412">Data is taken from United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/index.htm Casweb Data services] of the United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England, Scotland and Wales] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405213012/http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm |date=5 April 2022 }} (Table 6)</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref>{{cite web |title=Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref name=":36">{{Cite web |title=2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls |access-date=2021-12-15 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/d2f0a39a-75b6-4995-b4bd-a5b68ff79027#get-data |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]: Total
!241,233
!99.1%
!236,767
!98.4%
!246,509
!96.1%
!248,727
!94.1%
|-
|White: [[White British|British]]
|–
|–
|232,377
|96.5%
|238,263
|92.9%
|236,802
|89.5%
|-
|White: [[White Irish|Irish]]
|–
|–
|1,359
|0.6%
|1,105
|
|1,055
|0.4%
|-
|White: [[White Gypsy or Irish Traveller|Gypsy or Irish Traveller]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|153
|
|165
|0.1%
|-
|White: Roma
|
|
|
|
|
|
|168
|0.1%
|-
|White: [[Other White|Other]]
|–
|–
|3,031
|
|6,988
|
|10,537
|4.0%
|-
![[British Asian|Asian or Asian British]]: Total
!971
!0.4%
!1,427
!0.6%
!3,906
!1.5%
!5,947
!2.1%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Indians|Indian]]
|209
|
|258
|
|875
|
|1,403
|0.5%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Pakistanis|Pakistani]]
|53
|
|83
|
|202
|
|389
|0.1%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]]
|105
|
|152
|
|359
|
|537
|0.2%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Chinese|Chinese]]
|382
|
|685
|
|1,251
|
|1,430
|0.5%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: Other Asian
|222
|
|249
|
|1,219
|
|2188
|0.8%
|-
![[Black British people|Black or Black British]]: Total
!621
!0.3%
!451
!0.2%
!1,678
!0.7%
!2,786
!1.1%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|African]]
|180
|
|230
|
|1,106
|
|2,022
|0.8%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbean]]
|177
|
|165
|
|343
|
|460
|0.2%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom|Other Black]]
|264
|
|56
|
|229
|
|304
|0.1%
|-
![[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed or British Mixed]]: Total
!–
!–
!1,559
!0.6%
!3,287
!1.3%
!4,656
!1.7%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black Caribbean
|–
|–
|420
|
|904
|
|1,108
|0.4%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black African
|–
|–
|246
|
|523
|
|860
|0.3%
|-
|Mixed: White and Asian
|–
|–
|498
|
|1,028
|
|1,349
|0.5%
|-
|Mixed: Other Mixed
|–
|–
|395
|
|832
|
|1,339
|0.5%
|-
!Other: Total
!548
!0.3%
!516
!0.6%
!944
!0.4%
!2,579
!1%
|-
|Other: Arab
|
|
|
|
|339
|
|677
|0.3%
|-
|Other: Any other ethnic group
|548
|0.3%
|516
|0.6%
|605
|
|1,902
|0.7%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Total
!243,373
!100%
!240,720
!100%
!256,384
!100%
!264,695
!100%
|}

== Economy ==
[[File:HMNB Devonport.jpg|thumb|right|[[HMNB Devonport]] – the largest operational naval base in Western Europe.<ref name="HMNB Devonport">{{cite web |title=HMNB Devonport |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Naval-Bases/Devonport |access-date=18 September 2013 |publisher=The [[Royal Navy]] |archive-date=22 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922011842/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Naval-Bases/Devonport |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Because of its coastal location, the economy of Plymouth has traditionally been [[Wiktionary:maritime|maritime]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Plymouth's proud naval history |publisher=[[BBC Devon]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8278000/8278316.stm |access-date=7 July 2013 |archive-date=3 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003053759/http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8278000/8278316.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> in particular the defence sector with over 12,000 people employed and approximately 7,500 in the armed forces.<ref name="economy">{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/businessandeconomy|title=Business and economy|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=17 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609141157/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/businessandeconomy <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref> The [[Plymouth Gin Distillery]] has been producing [[Plymouth Gin]] since 1793, which was exported around the world by the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name="gin">{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yoll2mMLp1QC |title=The Rough Guide to Devon & Cornwall |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |others=Peter Hack, Kate Hughes, Bea Uhart |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84353-312-2 |edition=2 |page=139 |access-date=26 July 2009 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222311/https://books.google.com/books?id=Yoll2mMLp1QC |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1930s, it was the most widely distributed [[gin]] and had a [[Appellation d'origine contrôlée|controlled term of origin]]<ref name="gin" /> until 2015. Since the 1980s, employment in the defence sector has decreased substantially and the public sector is now prominent particularly in administration, health, education, medicine and engineering.<ref name="economy" />

[[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] is the UK's only naval base that refits nuclear submarines and the Navy estimates that the Dockyard generates about 10% of Plymouth's income.<ref name="HMNB Devonport" /> Plymouth has the largest cluster of marine and maritime businesses in the south west with 270 firms operating within the sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marine Sector |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/textonly/marinesector |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20071015121408/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/textonly/marinesector |archive-date=15 October 2007 |access-date=22 July 2008 |website=Plymouth City Council website |publisher=The [[University of Plymouth]]}}</ref> Other substantial employers include [[University of Plymouth|the university]] with almost 3,000 staff,<ref name="uni">{{cite web |title=University of Plymouth – an introduction |url=http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=1060 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[University of Plymouth]] |archive-date=22 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222002416/http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=1060 |url-status=live }}</ref> the national retail chain [[The Range (retailer)|The Range]] at their [[Estover, Plymouth|Estover]] headquarters, as well as the [[Plymouth Science Park]] employing 500 people in 50 companies.<ref name="economy" />

Plymouth has a post-war shopping area in the city centre with substantial pedestrianisation.<ref name="gillredev" /> At the west end of the zone inside a grade II [[listed building]] is [[Plymouth Pannier Market|the Pannier Market]] that was completed in 1959 – ''[[pannier]]'' meaning "basket" from French, so it translates as "basket market".<ref>{{cite web |title=History of pannier market |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/pmhistoryofmarket |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210100205/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/pmhistoryofmarket |archive-date=10 February 2008 |access-date=16 February 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> In terms of retail floorspace, Plymouth is ranked in the top five in the [[South West England|South West]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Town Centre Performance & Retail Ranking Update, May 2007 |url=http://southwest-ra.gov.uk/media/SWRA/RSS%20Documents/Technical%20Documents/Technical%20Work/FINAL_covering_note_Retail_Rankings_Update_Report_May_2007.pdf |access-date=16 February 2008 |publisher=South West Regional Board |archive-date=27 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227012631/http://southwest-ra.gov.uk/media/SWRA/RSS%20Documents/Technical%20Documents/Technical%20Work/FINAL_covering_note_Retail_Rankings_Update_Report_May_2007.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and 29th nationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/citycentre/ccfactsandfigures.htm|title=Facts and figures|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=20 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210130208/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/citycentre/ccfactsandfigures.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=10 February 2008}}</ref> Plymouth was one of the first ten British cities to trial the new [[Business improvement district]] initiative.<ref>{{cite web |title=Established BIDs |url=http://www.ukbids.org/BIDS/index.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120093900/http://www.ukbids.org/BIDS/index.php |archive-date=20 January 2008 |access-date=16 February 2008 |publisher=National BIDs Advisory Service}}</ref> The [[Tinside Pool]] is situated at the foot of the Hoe and became a grade II listed building in 1998 before being restored to its 1930s look for £3.4&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 January 2008 |title=Point 6 – Tinside Pool |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/07/coast05walks_stage6_feature.shtml |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=5 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705195744/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/07/coast05walks_stage6_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Plymouth 2020 ===
{{Update|section|date=February 2017}}
Since 2003, Plymouth Council has been undertaking a project of urban redevelopment called the "Vision for Plymouth" launched by the architect [[David Mackay (architect)|David Mackay]] and backed by both Plymouth City Council and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce (PCC).<ref name="vision">{{cite web |title=A vision for Plymouth |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/vision#city_centre |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609065746/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/vision#city_centre |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=20 February 2008 |website=plymouth.gov.org |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref> With the aim of growing the population to 300,000 by building 33,000 new dwellings, its projects range from shopping centres, new public realm, a cruise terminal, rebalancing the underutilised city centre retail district and opening waterfront development linked by a new urban boulevard.<ref name="vision" />

[[File:Drake circus interior.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of the [[Drake Circus Shopping Centre]] in 2006]]
In 2004 the old Drake Circus shopping centre and Charles Cross car park were demolished and replaced by the latest [[Drake Circus Shopping Centre]], which opened in October 2006.<ref name="dccontroversy">{{Cite news |date=5 October 2006 |title=Controversy over £200m shops plan |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/5402112.stm |access-date=13 October 2007 |archive-date=26 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826102931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5402112.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> It received negative feedback before opening when David Mackay said it was already "ten years out of date".<ref name="dccontroversy" /> It was awarded the first ever [[Carbuncle Cup]], awarded for Britain's ugliest building, in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carbuncle Cup|url=https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Carbuncle_Cup|access-date=29 March 2021|website=designingbuildings.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=21 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921040231/https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Carbuncle_Cup|url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, the [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]]'s production and education centre, TR2, which was built on wasteland at [[Cattedown]], was a runner-up for the RIBA [[Stirling Prize]] for Architecture in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laing |first=Jemima |date=5 October 2006 |title=Changing perceptions of Plymouth |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/5385206.stm |access-date=15 November 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115110836/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5385206.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Proposals included the demolition of the [[Plymouth Pavilions]] [[Arena|entertainment arena]] to create a canal "boulevard" linking [[Millbay]] to the city centre delivered in 2020. Millbay is being regenerated with mixed residential, retail and office space alongside the ferry port.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 2002 |title=Dock regeneration plan boosted |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2588159.stm |access-date=29 June 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115081243/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2588159.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth's Civic Centre was vacated by Plymouth City Council, and their operations were dispersed across the city centre—the vacant and dilapidated modernist building was proposed for demolition by the Council but was ultimately saved by a listing in 2007<ref>{{cite web | url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1392038?section=official-list-entry | title=Council House and former Civic Centre, non Civil Parish - 1392038 &#124; Historic England }}</ref> for its national architectural merit and was gifted to the developers [[Urban Splash]], who intend to refurbish the structure for a mixed-use regeneration including variable let accommodation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.urbansplash.co.uk/regeneration/projects/civic-centre | title=Civic Centre, Plymouth }}</ref> The removal and relocation of [[Bretonside bus station]]—a site originally earmarked for the Council<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 September 2007 |title=Civic centre demolition backed |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7010433.stm |access-date=15 November 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115110846/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7010433.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>—was ultimately released  for a mixed-use commercial leisure redevelopment including cinema and restaurants named 'Barcode' owned by [[British Land]] which also owns the adjacent Drake's Circus.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/barcode-drake-circus-mall-owner-8446510?int_source=nba | title=Barcode and Drake Circus owner makes £1bn loss | date=17 May 2023 }}</ref>

Jacka Bakery in the Barbican district is reputedly the oldest bakery in the UK,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://myfoodhunt.com/2020/09/11/jacka-bakery-in-plymouth/ | title=Jacka Bakery in Plymouth | date=29 November 2023 }}</ref> and has operated since the 1600s.

== Transport ==

===Railway===
{{See also|Railways in Plymouth}}

[[File:43016 and 802113 PLY.jpg|thumb|Inter-city trains at Plymouth station, operated by Great Western Railway]]

[[Plymouth railway station]] is served by two [[train operating companies]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Station Facilities: Plymouth (PLY) |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/ply.html |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=[[National Rail]] Enquiries |archive-date=25 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225114323/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/ply.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

* [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] operates inter-city services to {{rws|Penzance}}, {{rws|Exeter St Davids}}, {{rws|Taunton}}, {{rws|Reading}}, {{rws|London Paddington}}, {{rws|Bristol Temple Meads}} and {{rws|Cardiff Central}}; local services run to {{rws|Gunnislake}}. It also manages the station.<ref>{{Cite web |work=Great Western Railway |title=Train Times |date=21 May 2023 |access-date=3 October 2023 |url= https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/train-times |quote=}}</ref>
* [[CrossCountry]] operate services from the [[South West England|South West]] to the [[English Midlands|Midlands]], [[North East England|North East]] and [[Scotland]]; destinations include Bristol, {{rws|Birmingham New Street}}, {{rws|Derby}}, {{rws|Sheffield}}, {{rws|York}}, {{rws|Newcastle}}, {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}}, {{rws|Glasgow Central}} and {{rws|Aberdeen}}.<ref>{{Cite web |work=CrossCountry |title=Timetables |date=21 May 2023 |access-date=3 October 2023 |url= https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-updates-information/train-timetables |quote=}}</ref>

Smaller stations in the suburban area west of the city centre are served by trains on the [[Tamar Valley Line]] to Gunnislake and local services on the [[Cornish Main Line]], which crosses the Tamar on the [[Royal Albert Bridge]]. This was designed by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel|Brunel]] and opened in 1859. The parallel road bridge was completed in 1961.

====History====
The station opened on its present site in 1877 and was previously named ''Plymouth North Road'', when there were other main line stations in the city at [[Plymouth Millbay railway station|Millbay]] and [[Plymouth Friary railway station|Friary]]; these have since closed.

====Future====
There have been proposals to reopen the [[Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR]] which would connect [[Cornwall]] and Plymouth to Exeter using the former [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] main line from Plymouth to Exeter via {{rws|Okehampton}}, because the main line through South Devon is vulnerable to damage from rough seas at {{rws|Dawlish}}, where some of the cliffs are also fragile. There are related proposals to reopen part of the old main line from Bere Alston on the [[Plymouth-Gunnislake line]] as far as Tavistock to serve a new housing development but, although the idea has been discussed since 2008, progress has been slow.

===Roads===
The [[A38 road|A38 dual-carriageway]] runs from east to west across the north of the city; within the city, it is known as 'The [[Parkway]]' and represents the boundary between the older parts of the city and more recently developed suburban areas. Heading east, it connects Plymouth to the [[M5 motorway]], about {{convert|40|mi|km|round=5}} away near [[Exeter]]; heading west, it connects Devon with Cornwall via the [[Tamar Bridge]].

===Buses===
Bus services are provided mainly by [[Plymouth Citybus]] and [[Stagecoach South West]], but a few routes are served by smaller local operators. Long distance inter-city bus services terminate at [[Plymouth coach station]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plymouth Bus Services |work=Bus Times |date=2023 |access-date=3 October 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/plymouth |quote=}}</ref>

There are three [[Park and Ride]] services at [[Milehouse]], Coypool ([[Plympton]]) and George Junction ([[Plymouth City Airport]]), which are operated by [[Stagecoach South West]] except Milehouse park and ride. This is served by [[Plymouth Citybus]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Park and ride |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/transportandstreets/publictransport/parkandride.htm |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=1 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201191654/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/transportandstreets/publictransport/parkandride.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ferries ===
[[File:Pont Aven at Millbay.jpg|thumb|left|MV ''Pont-Aven'': Brittany Ferries service to Roscoff, France and Santander, Spain in Millbay Docks]]
A regular international ferry service provided by [[Brittany Ferries]] operates from [[Millbay]] taking cars and foot passengers directly to France ([[Roscoff]]) and Spain ([[Santander, Cantabria|Santander]]) primarily on the two ferries, ''[[MV Armorique (2008)|MV Armorique]]'' and ''[[MV Pont-Aven]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth Ferry Terminal Guide |url=http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/port-guide/plymouth-terminal |access-date=11 April 2009 |publisher=[[Brittany Ferries]] |archive-date=27 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227100537/http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/port-guide/plymouth-terminal |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Cremyll Ferry]] is a passenger ferry between [[Stonehouse, Plymouth|Stonehouse]] and the Cornish hamlet of [[Cremyll]], which is believed to have operated continuously since 1204.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cremyll ferry |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/transportandstreets/publictransport/cremyllferry.htm |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=4 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704202339/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/transportandstreets/publictransport/cremyllferry.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a pedestrian ferry from the [[Mayflower Steps]] to [[Mount Batten]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Mount Batten Ferry general info |url=http://mountbattenferry.net/info.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509171018/http://www.mountbattenferry.net/info.html |archive-date=9 May 2009 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=Mount Batten Ferry website}}</ref> and an alternative to using the [[Tamar Bridge]] via the [[Torpoint Ferry]] (vehicle and pedestrian) across the [[River Tamar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Torpoint ferry |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/torpointferry |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609040217/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/torpointferry |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Air ===
The city's airport was [[Plymouth City Airport]] about {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} north of the city centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=View of the aircraft parking area and runway at Plymouth City Airport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/webcams/plymouth_airport_cam.shtml |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114043517/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/webcams/plymouth_airport_cam.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The airport was home to the local airline [[Air Southwest]],<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.airsouthwest.com/about/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011102904/http://www.airsouthwest.com/about/ |archive-date=11 October 2008 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=[[Air Southwest]]}}</ref>
which operated flights across the United Kingdom and Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouthairport.com/flights/|title=Plymouth City Airport Flights|publisher=[[Plymouth City Airport]]|access-date=16 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028032046/http://www.plymouthairport.com/flights/ <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=28 October 2008}}</ref> In June 2003, a report by the [[South West of England Regional Development Agency|South West RDA]] was published looking at the future of aviation in the south-west and the possible closure of airports.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 June 2003 |title=Air strategy for the far South West published |publisher=The [[South West of England Regional Development Agency|South West RDA]] |url=http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/news/release.asp?ReleaseID=814 |url-status=dead |access-date=16 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110094555/http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/news/release.asp?ReleaseID=814 |archive-date=10 January 2009}}</ref> It concluded that the best option for the south-west was to close Plymouth City Airport and expand [[Exeter International Airport]] and [[Newquay Cornwall Airport]], although it did conclude that this was not the best option for Plymouth.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 2003 |title=New blow for city airport |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/2970048.stm |access-date=16 November 2008 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115083029/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/2970048.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2011, it was announced that the airport would close,<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 April 2011 |title=Plymouth City Airport to close in December |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-13219590 |access-date=30 December 2011 |archive-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211111644/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-13219590 |url-status=live }}</ref> which it did on 23 December. A local company, FlyPlymouth, put forward plans in 2015 to reopen the airport by 2018, providing daily services to various destinations including London, but as of now, these projects have stalled.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 May 2015 |title=FlyPlymouth vows to reopen Plymouth City Airport within two years |work=Plymouth Herald|url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/FlyPlymouth-vows-reopen-Plymouth-City-Airport/story-26466154-detail/story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613071409/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/FlyPlymouth-vows-reopen-Plymouth-City-Airport/story-26466154-detail/story.html |archive-date=13 June 2015}}</ref>

=== Cycle routes ===
Plymouth is at the southern end of the {{convert|99|mi|adj=on}} long [[Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route]] ([[National Cycle Route 27]]). The route runs mostly traffic-free on off-road sections between Ilfracombe and Plymouth. The route uses former railway lines, though there are some stretches on public roads.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 May 2012 |title=Devon coast to coast {{!}} Britain's best bike rides |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/may/05/long-distance-rides-devon-coast |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172838/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/may/05/long-distance-rides-devon-coast |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Religion ==
[[File:Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Plymouth Cathedral|The Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface (Stonehouse, Plymouth)]]]]
Plymouth has about 150 churches city-wide. The [[Plymouth Cathedral]] is Roman Catholic, and is located in [[Stonehouse, Plymouth|Stonehouse]]. It was opened in 1858, and consecrated in 1880.<ref name="worship">{{cite web |title=Places of worship |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship.htm |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609153748/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth Cathedral 1858–2008: 150th Anniversary Celebrations |url=http://www.plymouth-diocese.org.uk/index.php?q=node/494 |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth |archive-date=2 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902085201/http://www.plymouth-diocese.org.uk/index.php?q=node%2F494 |url-status=live }}</ref> The city's oldest church is [[Plymouth Minster]], also known as St Andrew's Church, ([[Anglican]]) located at the top of Royal Parade—it is the largest parish church in [[Devon]] and has been a site of gathering since AD&nbsp;800.<ref name="worship" /> The city also includes five [[Baptists|Baptist]] churches, over twenty [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodist]] chapels, and thirteen [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] churches.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship/christian.htm |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=5 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905073142/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship/christian.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1831 the first [[Plymouth Brethren|Brethren]] assembly in England, a movement of conservative non-denominational Evangelical Christians, was established in the city, so that Brethren are often called Plymouth Brethren, although the movement did not begin locally.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 February 2004 |title=The Exclusive Brethren History |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/exclusivebrethren_2.shtml |access-date=13 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=7 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207202615/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/exclusivebrethren_2.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Plymouth has the first known reference to Jews in the [[South West England|South West]] from Sir [[Francis Drake]]'s voyages in 1577 to 1580, as his log mentioned "Moses the Jew" – a man from Plymouth.<ref name="worship" /> The [[Plymouth Synagogue]] is a [[Listed building|Listed Grade II* building]], built in 1762 and is the [[Oldest synagogues in the world|oldest]] [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] Synagogue in the [[English speaking world]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1130015|desc=Synagogue, Catherine Street, Plymouth|access-date=22 November 2008}}</ref> There are also places of worship for [[Islam]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], [[Buddhism]], [[Unitarianism]], Chinese beliefs and [[Humanism]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Other faiths, religions and beliefs |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship/otherfaiths.htm |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=13 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013105230/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/communityandliving/placesofworship/otherfaiths.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

58.1% of the population described themselves in the 2011 census return as being at least nominally Christian and 0.8% as Muslim with all other religions represented by less than 0.5% each. The portion of people without a religion is 32.9%; above the national average of 24.7%. 7.1% did not state their religious belief.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2013 |title=Religion, 2011 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522558&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2579 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605072319/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=61&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374085522558&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2579 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the 2001 Census, the number of Christians and Jews has decreased (−16% and −7% respectively), while all other religions have increased and non-religious people have almost doubled in number.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 November 2004 |title=Religion, 2001 |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=14&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374090797031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=95 |access-date=17 July 2013 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=23 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623065430/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275200&c=plymouth&d=13&e=14&g=6390905&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1374090797031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=95 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Plymouth}}
[[File:New Palace Theatre Plymouth.jpg|thumb|right|The [[New Palace Theatre]] in 2008]]
Built in 1815, [[Union Street, Plymouth|Union Street]] was at the heart of Plymouth's historical culture.<ref name="union">{{cite web |date=24 July 2006 |title=Union Street: night and day |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/07/12/union_street_community_feature.shtml |access-date=22 June 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=22 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522151922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/07/12/union_street_community_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> It became known as ''the servicemen's playground'', as it was where sailors from the Royal Navy would seek entertainment of all kinds.<ref name="union" /> During the 1930s, there were 30 pubs and it attracted such performers as [[Charlie Chaplin]] to the [[New Palace Theatre]].<ref name="union" /> It was described in 2008 as the late-night hub of Plymouth's entertainment strip.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Jonathan |date=14 November 2008 |title=Haven for casualties of the night |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7716750.stm |access-date=16 November 2008 |archive-date=5 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205194906/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7716750.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Outdoor events and festivals are held including the annual [[British Firework Championships]] in August, which attracts tens of thousands of people across the waterfront.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishfireworks.co.uk/2008/plymouth.htm|title=The British Firework Championships Plymouth|publisher=The [[British Firework Championships]] website|access-date=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014192011/http://www.britishfireworks.co.uk/2008/plymouth.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=14 October 2008}}</ref> In August 2006 the world record for the most simultaneous fireworks was surpassed, by Roy Lowry of the [[University of Plymouth]], over [[Plymouth Sound]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pascoe |first=Ben |date=2 November 2006 |title=Rocket man sets record |publisher=The [[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/07/18/rocket_record_feature.shtml |access-date=21 June 2008 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114012415/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/07/18/rocket_record_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2014 MTV Crashes Plymouth has taken place every July on Plymouth Hoe, hosting big-name acts such as [[The 1975]], [[Little Mix]], [[Tinie Tempah]] and [[Busted (band)|Busted]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=MTV Crashes Plymouth artists |language=en |url=http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv-crashes-plymouth/artists |access-date=5 February 2018 |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206075055/http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv-crashes-plymouth/artists |url-status=dead }}</ref> Between 1992 and 2012 the Music of the Night celebration was performed in the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Royal Citadel]] by the [[29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery|29 Commando Regiment]] and local performers to raise money for local and military charities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themusicofthenight.co.uk/aboutmotn.htm|title=About Music of the Night|publisher=Music of the Night|access-date=16 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005165528/http://www.themusicofthenight.co.uk/aboutmotn.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=5 October 2008}}</ref> A number of other smaller cultural events taken place annually, including Plymouth Art Weekender,<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth Art Weekender {{!}} 22 / 23 / 24 September 2017 |url=http://plymouthartweekender.com/ |access-date=5 February 2018 |website=plymouthartweekender.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206131408/http://plymouthartweekender.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Plymouth Fringe Festival<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2016 |title=Home |language=en-GB |work=Plymouth Fringe Festival |url=http://plymouthfringe.com/ |access-date=5 February 2018 |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206131529/http://plymouthfringe.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Illuminate Festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=Illuminate – Ceremony in Plymouth, Plymouth – Visit Plymouth |url=https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/whats-on/illuminate-p1962433 |access-date=5 February 2018 |website=visitplymouth.co.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206131417/https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/whats-on/illuminate-p1962433 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city's main theatre is [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal Plymouth]], presenting large-scale West End shows and smaller works as well as an extensive education and outreach programme. The main building is located in the city centre and contains three performance spaces – The Lyric (1,315 capacity),<ref>{{cite web |title=Theatre Royal |url=http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=974 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222002239/http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=974 |archive-date=22 December 2008 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]]}}</ref> Drum Theatre (200 capacity),<ref>{{cite web |title=Drum Theatre |url=http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=975 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222002244/http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=975 |archive-date=22 December 2008 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]]}}</ref> and The Lab (60 capacity) – and they also run their own specialised production and creative learning centre called TR2, based in Cattedown.<ref>{{cite web |title=TR2 |url=http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=976 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025075832/http://www.theatreroyal.com/content.asp?CategoryID=976 |archive-date=25 October 2008 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]]}}</ref> [[Plymouth Pavilions]] has multiple uses for the city staging music concerts, basketball matches and stand-up comedy.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.plymouthpavilions.com/content.asp?CategoryID=979 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822083430/http://www.plymouthpavilions.com/content.asp?CategoryID=979 |archive-date=22 August 2008 |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[Plymouth Pavilions]]}}</ref> There are also three cinemas: Reel Cinema at Derrys Cross, [[Plymouth Arts Centre]] at Looe Street and a [[Vue (cinema)|Vue cinema]] at the Barbican Leisure Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/cinemas|title=Cinemas|publisher=Plymouth City Council|access-date=17 November 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080609121113/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/cinemas <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 9 June 2008}}</ref> Barbican Theatre, Plymouth delivers a theatre and dance programme of performances and workshops focused on young people and emerging artists contains a main auditorium (110 – 140 capacity) and rehearsal studio;<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 October 2012 |title=Home |language=en-US |work=Barbican Theatre Plymouth |url=https://www.barbicantheatre.co.uk/ |access-date=5 February 2018 |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073542/https://www.barbicantheatre.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> they also host the B-Bar (80 capacity), which offers a programme of music, comedy and spoken word performance.<ref>{{cite web |title=The B-Bar, Barbican, Plymouth |url=http://www.b-bar.co.uk/ |access-date=5 February 2018 |website=b-bar.co.uk |archive-date=3 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203200245/http://www.b-bar.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[The Plymouth Athenaeum]], which includes a local interest library, is a society dedicated to the promotion of learning in the fields of science, technology, literature and art. In 2017 its auditorium (340 capacity) returned to use as a theatre, having been out of service since 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Plymouth Athenaeum Library |url=http://independentlibraries.co.uk/directory-langholm-to-portico/the-plymouth-athenaeum-library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203102954/http://independentlibraries.co.uk/directory-langholm-to-portico/the-plymouth-athenaeum-library |archive-date=3 December 2014 |access-date=11 November 2014 |publisher=Independentlibraries.co.uk}}</ref> The [[Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery]], now renamed as The Box, is operated by Plymouth City Council allowing free admission – it has six galleries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/museums/museumpcmag.htm |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=5 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205042211/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/museums/museumpcmag.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth is the regional television centre of [[BBC South West]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Spotlight (address footnote) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006pfr1 |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=[[BBC South West]] |archive-date=20 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220173546/http://www.bbc.co.uk/spotlight/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A team of journalists are headquartered at Plymouth for the [[ITV West Country]] regional station, after a merger with [[ITV West]] forced [[ITV Westcountry]] to close on 16 February 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 February 2009 |title=The end of an era: Last night for Westcountry TV |work=[[The Herald (Plymouth)|The Herald]] |url=http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/end-era/article-695073-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214201357/http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/end-era/article-695073-detail/article.html |archive-date=14 February 2009}}</ref> The main local newspapers serving Plymouth are ''[[The Herald (Plymouth)|The Herald]],'' ''[[Western Morning News]]'' and the Plymouth Chronicle with [[Radio Plymouth|Greatest Hits Radio Plymouth]], [[BBC Radio Devon]], and [[Heart West]] being the local radio stations with the most listeners.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creative Sector |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/business/invest/sectors/creativesector.htm |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725080638/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/business/invest/sectors/creativesector.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Sport ==
{{Main|Sport in Plymouth}}
[[File:Home Park.jpg|thumb|[[Home Park]]]]
[[File:PavilionsBasketball.jpg|thumb|right|Plymouth Pavilions, home to the [[Plymouth City Patriots]].]]
Plymouth is home to [[Plymouth Argyle F.C.]], who, as of the 2025-26 season, play in the third tier of English football, Sky Bet League One. The team's home ground is called [[Home Park]] and is located next to [[Central Park, Plymouth|Central Park]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Divisional League Table |url=http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalLeagueTable/0,,10794~20087,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413192329/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalLeagueTable/0,,10794~20087,00.html |archive-date=13 April 2014 |access-date=31 August 2008 |publisher=The Football League}}</ref> It links itself with the group of English non-conformists that left Plymouth for the [[New World]] in 1620: its nickname is "The Pilgrims".<ref>{{cite web |date=18 February 2008 |title=History of Plymouth Argyle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2008/01/07/plymouth_argyle_history_feature.shtml |access-date=31 August 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=8 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508010906/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2008/01/07/plymouth_argyle_history_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The city also has three [[Non-League football]] clubs; [[Plymouth Parkway F.C.|Plymouth Parkway]] who play at Bolitho Park, [[Elburton Villa F.C.|Elburton Villa]] who play at Haye Road and Plymstock United who play at Dean Cross. Plymouth Parkway were promoted to the [[Western Football League|Western League]] from the [[South West Peninsula League]] in 2018, and after two Covid-19 interrupted years to the [[Southern Football League]] in 2021, whilst Elburton Villa and Plymstock United continue to compete in the South West Peninsula League.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Other sports clubs competing in national competition include [[Plymouth Albion R.F.C.|Plymouth Albion]], [[Plymouth City Patriots]], [[Plymouth Raiders]] and [[Plymouth Gladiators]].

[[Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club]] is a [[rugby union]] club that was founded in 1875 and are currently competing in the third tier of Professional English Rugby the [[National League 1]]. They play at [[the Brickfields]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouthalbion.com/club/history.html|title=History of Plymouth Albion RFC|publisher=[[Plymouth Albion R.F.C.]] website|access-date=21 June 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080531042000/http://www.plymouthalbion.com/club/history.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 31 May 2008}}</ref>

In [[basketball]], the city is represented by two teams; [[Plymouth City Patriots]], of the top-tier [[British Basketball League]], and [[Plymouth Raiders]] of the [[National Basketball League (England)|National Basketball League]].

[[Plymouth Gladiators]] are a [[Motorcycle speedway|speedway]] team, currently competing in the British [[National League (speedway)|National League]], with home meetings taking place at the [[St Boniface Arena|Plymouth Coliseum]]. [[Plymouth cricket club]] was formed in 1843, the current 1st XI play in the Devon Premier League. Plymouth is also home to Plymouth Marjons Hockey Club, with their 1st XI playing in the National League last season. [[Plymouth Mariners]] [[Baseball]] club play in the South West Baseball League, they play their home games at Wilson Field in Central Park. Plymouth was home to an [[American football]] club, the [[Plymouth Admirals]] until 2010.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Plymouth is an important centre for watersports, especially scuba diving and sailing. The Port of Plymouth Regatta is one of the oldest regattas in the world, and has been held regularly since 1823. In September 2011, Plymouth hosted the [[America's Cup World Series]] for nine days.<ref>{{cite web |date=23 February 2012 |title=Plymouth hosts America's Cup World Series |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-17131800 |access-date=10 March 2013 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=7 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407014752/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-17131800 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Public services ==
[[File:Devonport leat 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Devonport Leat]] on [[Dartmoor]] looking up stream]]
Since 1973 Plymouth has been supplied water by [[South West Water]]. Prior to the 1973 take over it was supplied by Plymouth County Borough Corporation.<ref>The South West Water Authority Constitution Order 1973 (1973 No. 1307)</ref> Before the 19th century two [[leat]]s were built to provide drinking water for the town. They carried water from [[Dartmoor]] to Plymouth. A watercourse, known as Plymouth or [[Drake's Leat]], was opened on 24 April 1591 to tap the [[River Meavy]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=14 January 2013 |title=Water Supply to Plymouth |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/WaterSupply-Plymouth.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016090134/http://www.plymouthdata.info/WaterSupply-Plymouth.htm |archive-date=16 October 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> The [[Devonport Leat]] was constructed to carry fresh drinking water to the expanding town of [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]] and its ever-growing dockyard. It was fed by three Dartmoor rivers: The [[West Dart River|West Dart]], Cowsic and Blackabrook. It seems to have been carrying water since 1797, but it was officially completed in 1801. It was originally designed to carry water to Devonport town but has since been shortened and now carries water to [[Burrator Reservoir]], which feeds most of the water supply of Plymouth.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moseley |first=Brian |date=8 July 2011 |title=Water Supply to Plymouth Dock/Devonport |url=http://www.plymouthdata.info/WaterSupply-Devonport.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517174241/http://www.plymouthdata.info/WaterSupply-Devonport.htm |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=13 February 2015 |website=The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |publisher=Plymouth Data}}</ref> Burrator Reservoir is located about {{convert|5|mi|0}} north of the city and was constructed in 1898 and expanded in 1928.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Dartmoor |url=http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/lab-historydartmoor |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213175413/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/lab-historydartmoor |archive-date=13 December 2007 |access-date=31 August 2008 |publisher=[[Dartmoor]] National Park Authority}}</ref>

[[File:Plymouth Crown and County Courts.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Plymouth Law Courts|Plymouth Combined Crown and County Court Centre]]]]
Plymouth City Council is responsible for waste management throughout the city and [[South West Water]] is responsible for sewerage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rubbish and recycling |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/environmentandplanning/rubbishandrecycling.htm |access-date=31 May 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609015326/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/environmentandplanning/rubbishandrecycling.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About SWW |url=http://www.swwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=128 |access-date=31 August 2008 |publisher=[[South West Water]] |archive-date=31 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080831055619/http://www.swwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=128 |url-status=live }}</ref> Plymouth's electricity is supplied from the [[National Grid (UK)|National Grid]] and distributed to Plymouth via [[Western Power Distribution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westernpower.co.uk/default.asp|title=Western Power Distribution home page|publisher=[[Western Power Distribution]]|access-date=31 August 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080609104128/http://www.westernpower.co.uk/default.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 9 June 2008}}</ref> On the outskirts of [[Plympton]] a [[combined cycle]] gas-powered station, the [[Langage Power Station]], which started to produce electricity for Plymouth at the end of 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 2009 |title=Power station delayed for a year |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7927679.stm |access-date=27 March 2009 |archive-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315065748/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7927679.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service]] provide a [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrates' court]] and a [[Plymouth Law Courts|Combined Crown and County Court Centre]] in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Magistrates' Court search |url=http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/ListCourts.do?pager.offset=224 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107011434/http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/ListCourts.do?pager.offset=224 |archive-date=7 January 2009 |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Courts Service]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Combined Crown and County Court search |url=http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/ListCourts.do?pager.offset=16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106214631/http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/ListCourts.do?pager.offset=16 |archive-date=6 January 2009 |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Courts Service]]}}</ref> The Plymouth Borough Police, formed in 1836, eventually became part of [[Devon and Cornwall Constabulary]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History – Devon & Cornwall Constabulary |url=https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/our-people/our-history/ |access-date=10 July 2016 |publisher=[[Devon and Cornwall Constabulary]] |archive-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819134010/https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/our-people/our-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There are police stations at Charles Cross and Crownhill (the Divisional HQ) and smaller stations at Plympton and Plymstock.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to Plymouth City Centre & Waterfront – Devon & Cornwall Constabulary |url=https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/teams/Plymouth-City-Centre/Overview |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819100855/https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/teams/Plymouth-City-Centre/Overview |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=10 July 2016 |publisher=[[Devon and Cornwall Constabulary]]}}</ref> The city has one of the Devon and Cornwall Area [[Crown Prosecution Service]] Divisional offices.<ref>{{cite web |title=Your Local CPS: Devon and Cornwall |url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/local/southwest/devoncornwall.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312200539/http://www.cps.gov.uk/local/southwest/devoncornwall.html |archive-date=12 March 2008 |access-date=16 February 2008 |publisher=The [[Crown Prosecution Service]]}}</ref> Plymouth has five fire stations located in Camel's Head, [[Crownhill]], [[Greenbank, Plymouth|Greenbank]], [[Plympton]] and [[Plymstock]] which is part of [[Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service]].<ref>{{cite web |title=West Devon |url=http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/DevonFire/AboutUs/WhereWeAre/WestDevon/WestDevonMap.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704180832/http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/DevonFire/AboutUs/WhereWeAre/WestDevon/WestDevonMap.htm |archive-date=4 July 2007 |access-date=1 September 2008 |publisher=[[Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service]]}}</ref> The [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] have an [[Atlantic 85 class lifeboat]] and [[Severn class lifeboat]] stationed at [[Millbay Docks]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Plymouth Fleet |url=http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/southwest/stations/PlymouthSouthDevon/fleet |access-date=24 March 2009 |publisher=[[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] |archive-date=31 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331200527/http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/southwest/stations/PlymouthSouthDevon/fleet |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth is served by Plymouth Hospitals [[NHS Trust]] and the city's [[National Health Service (England)|NHS]] hospital is [[Derriford Hospital]] {{convert|4|mi|0}} north of the city centre. The Royal Eye Infirmary is located at Derriford Hospital.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 August 2008 |title=Plymouth Hospitals |url=http://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ourorganisation/DevelopingOurHospitals/SuccessfulDevelopments/Pages/Home.aspx |access-date=24 February 2013 |publisher=Plymouth Hospitals |archive-date=22 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222060145/http://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ourorganisation/DevelopingOurHospitals/SuccessfulDevelopments/Pages/Home.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[South Western Ambulance Service]] NHS Foundation Trust operates in Plymouth and the rest of the south west; its headquarters are in [[Exeter]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust website |url=http://www.wcas.nhs.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612220743/http://www.wcas.nhs.uk/ |archive-date=12 June 2008 |access-date=17 November 2008 |publisher=The [[South Western Ambulance Service]] NHS Trust}}</ref>

The mid-19th-century burial ground at [[Ford Park Cemetery]] was reopened by a successful trust formed in 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/outdoors/walks/plymouth_cemetary.shtml|title=Trail highlights Victorian past|date=15 April 2005|publisher=BBC Devon|access-date=27 August 2008}}</ref> and the City council operate two large early 20th century cemeteries at [[Weston Mill]] and [[Efford]] both with crematoria and chapels.<ref>{{cite web
| website = The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History
| publisher = Plymouth Data
| last = Moseley
| first = Brian
| title = Cemeteries and Crematoria
| date = September 2013
| url = http://www.plymouthdata.info/CEMETERIES%20CREMATORIA.htm
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928034235/http://www.plymouthdata.info/CEMETERIES%20CREMATORIA.htm
| archivedate = 28 September 2013
| accessdate = 13 February 2015}}</ref> There is also a privately owned cemetery on the outskirts of the city, Drake Memorial Park which does not allow headstones to mark graves, but a brass plaque set into the ground.<ref>{{cite web |title=Drake Memorial Park |url=http://www.drakememorialpark.co.uk/index.php |access-date=16 May 2010 |publisher=The Drake Memorial Park |archive-date=16 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316201657/http://www.drakememorialpark.co.uk/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Landmarks and tourist attractions ==
[[File:John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport in 2008.jpg|thumb|Grade I listed Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport]]
[[File:Elliot Terrace, Plymouth Hoe.jpg|thumb|Elliot Terrace, Plymouth Hoe]]
After the [[English Civil War]] the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Royal Citadel]] was erected in 1666 towards the eastern section of [[Plymouth Hoe]], to defend the port from naval attacks, suppress Plymothian Parliamentary leanings and to train the armed forces. Currently, guided tours are available in the summer months.<ref name="citadel" /> Further west is [[Smeaton's Tower]], which is a standard lighthouse that was constructed in 1759.  {{convert|14|mi}} Furthermore, Smeaton's Tower was dismantled in 1877 and the top two-thirds were reassembled on Plymouth Hoe.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 January 2008 |title=Coast Walks: Point 5 – Smeaton's Tower |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/07/coast05walks_stage5_feature.shtml |access-date=5 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=27 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527091630/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/07/coast05walks_stage5_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> It is open to the public and has views over the Plymouth Sound and the city from the lantern room.<ref>{{cite web |title=Smeaton's Tower |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/museums/museumsmeatonstower.htm |access-date=3 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council |archive-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609144547/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/creativityandculture/museums/museumsmeatonstower.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Plymouth has 20 war memorials of which nine are on [[Plymouth Hoe|The Hoe]] including: [[Plymouth Naval Memorial]], to remember those killed in World Wars I and II who have no known grave,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/142001 |title=PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL |work=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission ]] |accessdate=2010-05-05}}</ref> and the [[Armada Memorial]], to commemorate the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]].<ref>{{cite web |title=War memorials |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/warmemorials |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609095409/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/warmemorials |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=Plymouth City Council}}</ref>

The early port settlement of Plymouth, called "Sutton", approximates to the area now referred to as the [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]] and has 100 [[listed building]]s and the largest concentration of [[cobblestone|cobbled]] streets in Britain.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 February 2008 |title=Plymouth's Historic Barbican |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/11/30/historic_barbican_feature.shtml |access-date=16 November 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114021732/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/11/30/historic_barbican_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Pilgrim Fathers]] left for the [[New World]] in 1620 near the commemorative [[Mayflower Steps]] in Sutton Pool.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 January 2008 |title=Point 8a – Mayflower Steps |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/panoramas/point8a_mayflower_steps_360.shtml |access-date=5 July 2008 |publisher=The [[BBC]] |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114043512/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/panoramas/point8a_mayflower_steps_360.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Also on Sutton Pool is the [[National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth|National Marine Aquarium]] which displays 400 marine species and includes Britain's deepest aquarium tank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our mission is to inspire everyone to take action towards sustainability and conservation of the marine environment |url=http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/plymouth-attraction |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904165245/http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/plymouth-attraction |archive-date=4 September 2009 |website=National Marine Aquarium}}</ref>

{{convert|1|mi|km|0|spell=On}} upstream on the opposite side of the [[River Plym]] is the [[Saltram House|Saltram estate]], which has a [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] and [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] mansion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-saltram/|title=Saltram|publisher=The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]|access-date=6 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610140035/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-saltram/ <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=10 June 2008}}</ref>

On the northern outskirts of the city, [[Crownhill Fort]] is a well-restored example of a "[[Palmerston forts|Palmerston's Folly]]". It is owned by the [[Landmark Trust]] and is open to the public.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crownhill Fort |url=http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/otherOptions/crownhill.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727002630/http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/otherOptions/crownhill.htm |archive-date=27 July 2012 |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=The Landmark Trust}}</ref>

To the west of the city is [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]], one of Plymouth's historic quarters. As part of Devonport's millennium regeneration project, the ''Devonport Heritage Trail'' has been introduced, complete with over 70 waymarkers outlining the route.<ref>{{cite web |title=Devonport Heritage Trail |url=http://www.devonportonline.co.uk/millennium_devonport/playing/walks/heritage-trail.aspx |access-date=29 April 2011 |publisher=DevonportOnline |archive-date=13 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113144537/http://www.devonportonline.co.uk/millennium_devonport/playing/walks/heritage-trail.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plymouth is often used as a base by visitors to [[Dartmoor]], the [[River Tamar|Tamar]] Valley and the beaches of south-east [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Gemma Thompson |title=Plymouth City Council – The countryside |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/leisureandtourism/tourismandvisitors/tourismcountryside.htm |access-date=17 September 2012 |publisher=Plymouth.gov.uk |archive-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318115126/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/leisureandtourism/tourismandvisitors/tourismcountryside.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kingsand]], [[Cawsand]] and [[Whitsand Bay]] are popular.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/static.asp?page=unavailable |title=周楳⁰慧攠畮慶慩污扬? |access-date=10 September 2023 |archive-date=5 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705030917/http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/static.asp?page=unavailable |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Roland Levinsky Building]], the landmark building of the [[University of Plymouth]], is located in the city's central quarter. Designed by leading architect [[Henning Larsen]], the building was opened in 2008 and houses the University's Arts faculty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roland Levinsky Building |url=https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/students-and-family/life-at-plymouth/campus-and-facilities/roland-levinsky-building |website=University of Plymouth |access-date=2 October 2021}}</ref>

[[Beckley Point]], at 78m / 20 floors, is Plymouth's tallest building<ref>{{cite web |title=Kier tops out at Plymouth's Beckley Point |date=9 February 2017 |url=http://cinmagazine.co.uk/kier-tops-plymouths-beckley-point/ |access-date=23 September 2018 |archive-date=23 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923235214/http://cinmagazine.co.uk/kier-tops-plymouths-beckley-point/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Go-ahead for Plymouth's tallest building |url=http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2014/11/28/plymouth-tallest-building-plan-approved/ |access-date=23 September 2018 |archive-date=23 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923235348/http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2014/11/28/plymouth-tallest-building-plan-approved/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was completed on 8 February 2018. It was designed by Boyes Rees Architects and built by contractors [[Kier Group|Kier]].

<gallery caption="Images of landmarks">
File:SmeatonsTower2006.JPG|[[Smeaton's Tower]]
File:Plymouth Sound and Breakwater.jpg|[[Plymouth Sound]] and [[Plymouth Breakwater|Breakwater]]
File:Britannia-Statue.jpg|National Armada memorial ([[Britannia]])
File:War memorial, Plymouth.jpg|Naval War Memorial
File:Plymouth Barbican and harbour.jpg|The Parade, [[Barbican, Plymouth|Barbican]]
File:MayflowerSteps.jpg|The [[Mayflower Steps]] Memorial
File:Saltram House 2008.jpg|[[Saltram House]] remodelled by the architect [[Robert Adam]]
File:Beckley Point, Plymouth (geograph 5778842).jpg|[[Beckley Point]]
</gallery>

== Notable people ==
{{Main|List of people from Plymouth}}
[[File:1590 or later Marcus Gheeraerts, Sir Francis Drake Buckland Abbey, Devon.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Sir [[Francis Drake]]]]
People from Plymouth are known as Plymothians or less formally as [[Janner]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 March 2008 |title=Anger over slave trader pub name |publisher=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7315998.stm |access-date=27 October 2009 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222405/https://secure-uk.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?rnd=1627079042699&ci=bbc&cg=0&sr=1600x1000&ts=v51.js&cd=24&lg=en-US&je=n&ck=y&tz=0&ct=&hp=&tl=BBC%20NEWS%20%7C%20UK%20%7C%20England%20%7C%20Devon%20%7C%20Anger%20over%20slave%20trader%20pub%20name&si=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fuk_news%2Fengland%2Fdevon%2F7315998.stm&rp= |url-status=live }}</ref> Its meaning is described as a person from [[Devon]], deriving from Cousin Jan (the [[Devon]] form of [[John (first name)|John]]), but more particularly in [[Royal Navy|naval]] circles anyone from the Plymouth area.<ref>{{cite book|title=Grey Funnel Lines: Traditional Song & Verse of the Royal Navy, 1900–1970|first=Cyril Tawney|last=Routledge|author2=Kegan Paul |year=1987|isbn=978-0-7102-1270-2|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=London}}</ref>

The Elizabethan navigator, Sir [[Francis Drake]] was born in the nearby town of [[Tavistock, Devon|Tavistock]] and was the mayor of Plymouth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/francis_drake.shtml|title=Sir Francis Drake|publisher=BBC|access-date=3 December 2008|archive-date=23 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723222312/https://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/4ce2251c28db82aa892a105b718dba4d6a74c327.gif|url-status=live}}</ref> He was the first [[English people|Englishman]] to circumnavigate the world and was known by the Spanish as ''El Draco'' meaning "The Dragon" after he raided many of their ships.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rasor|first=Eugene|title=English/British Naval History to 1815: A Guide to the Literature|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|page=190|isbn=0-313-30547-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D4oNNsTdvEoC|access-date=2 September 2008|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022155410/https://books.google.com/books?id=D4oNNsTdvEoC|url-status=live}}</ref> He died of [[dysentery]] in 1596 off the coast of [[Portobelo]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/drake_francis.shtml|title=Sir Francis Drake (c.1540 – c.1596)|publisher=The [[BBC]]|access-date=31 August 2008|archive-date=12 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212034636/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/drake_francis.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Panama. In 2002 a mission to recover his body and bring it to Plymouth was allowed by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/england/1650689.stm |title=Mission to rescue Drake's body |date=12 November 2001 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=27 October 2009 |archive-date=11 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411012209/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/england/1650689.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> His cousin and contemporary [[John Hawkins (naval commander)|John Hawkins]] was a Plymouth man.

Painter Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]], founder and first president of the [[Royal Academy]] was born and educated in nearby [[Plympton]], now part of Plymouth. [[William Cookworthy]] born in [[Kingsbridge]] set up his successful [[porcelain]] business in the city and was a close friend of [[John Smeaton]] designer of the [[Eddystone Lighthouse]]. [[Benjamin Robert Haydon]], an English painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, was born here in 1786.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Haydon, Benjamin Robert |volume=13|last= Rossetti | first= William Michael |author-link= William Michael Rossetti |pages=111–112|short=1}}</ref> The naturalist [[William Elford Leach]], who did much to pave the way in Britain for [[Charles Darwin]], was born at Hoe Gate in 1791.<ref>{{cite book |author=David M. Damkaer |year=2002 |title=The Copepodologist's Cabinet: A Biographical and Bibliographical History, Volume 1 |series=Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 240 |publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]] |isbn=978-0-87169-240-5 |chapter=Adding pages |pages=131–155 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgUNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA147}}</ref>

[[Antarctic]] explorers [[Robert Falcon Scott]] who was born in Plymouth and [[Frank Bickerton]] both lived in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/scott_of_antarctic.shtml |title=Robert Falcon Scott |publisher=The [[BBC]] |access-date=31 August 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106154902/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/scott_robert_falcon.shtml |archive-date=6 January 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/frank_bickerton.shtml |title=Antarctic explorer Frank Bickerton |publisher=BBC |access-date=8 June 2008 |archive-date=2 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202234234/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/frank_bickerton.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Artists include [[Beryl Cook]] whose paintings depict the culture of Plymouth<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7423702.stm |title=Painter Beryl Cook dies aged 81 |publisher=BBC News |date=28 May 2007 |access-date=8 June 2008 |archive-date=30 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530113431/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7423702.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Robert Lenkiewicz]], whose paintings investigated themes of [[Vagrancy (people)|vagrancy]], sexual behaviour and suicide, lived in the city from the 1960s until his death in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2002/lenkiewicz.shtml |title=Controversial artist |date=30 January 2008 |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 August 2008 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114021743/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2002/lenkiewicz.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Illustrator and creator of children's series [[Mr Benn]] and [[King Rollo]], [[David McKee]], was born and brought up in South Devon and trained at [[Plymouth College of Art]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Lucy |title=Elmer and Mr Benn author David McKee dies at 87 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/07/elmer-and-mr-benn-author-david-mckee-dies-at-87 |website=The Guardian |date=7 April 2022 |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref> Jazz musician [[John Surman]], born in nearby [[Tavistock, Devon|Tavistock]], has close connections to the area, evidenced by his 2012 album [[Saltash Bells]]. The [[avant-garde]] [[prepared guitar]]ist [[Keith Rowe]] was born in the city{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} before establishing the jazz [[free improvisation]] band [[AMM (group)|AMM]] in London in 1965 and [[M.I.M.E.O.|MIMEO]] in 1997. The musician and film director [[Cosmo Jarvis]] has lived in several towns in South Devon and has filmed videos in and around Plymouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/36a736a4-ddad-4173-a9a6-91fecd69b831 |title=Music – Cosmo Jarvis |publisher=BBC |access-date=24 February 2013 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116175243/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/36a736a4-ddad-4173-a9a6-91fecd69b831 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, actors Sir [[Donald Sinden]] and [[Judi Trott]] were born in Plymouth. George Passmore of [[Turner Prize]] winning duo [[Gilbert and George]] was also born in the city, as was Labour politician [[Michael Foot]] whose family reside at nearby [[Trematon Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1374428/Gilbert-George#ref=ref958418|title=Gilbert & George Britannica Online Encyclopaedia|publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopaedia|access-date=31 October 2008|archive-date=6 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106065403/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1374428/Gilbert-George#ref=ref958418|url-status=live}}</ref>

Notable athletes include swimmer [[Sharron Davies]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsreleases?newsid=128760|title=New centre to honour Plymouth Olympian Sharron Davies|publisher=Plymouth City Council|date=14 March 2007|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330201315/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsreleases?newsid=128760|archive-date=30 March 2007}}</ref> diver [[Tom Daley (diver)|Tom Daley]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympics.org.uk/AYOF07/athlete.aspx?sp=DV%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&at=6509|title=Thomas Daley Biography|publisher=The [[British Olympic Association]]|access-date=12 February 2007|archive-date=30 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155624/http://www.olympics.org.uk/AYOF07/athlete.aspx?sp=DV%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&at=6509|url-status=live}}</ref> dancer [[Wayne Sleep]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waynesleep.org/aboutsleep.html |title=About Sleep |publisher=[[Wayne Sleep]]'s website |access-date=31 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919004821/http://www.waynesleep.org/aboutsleep.html |archive-date=19 September 2008 }}</ref> and footballer [[Trevor Francis]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Trevor Francis|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/england/trevor-francis-10959/biography-of-international-football-career_a11423/|publisher=Sporting Heroes|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910044756/http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/england/trevor-francis-10959/biography-of-international-football-career_a11423/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other past residents include composer journalist and newspaper editor [[William Henry Wills (journalist)|William Henry Wills]], film music composer [[Ron Goodwin]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/ron_goodwin.shtml|title=Plymouth's movie maestro|date=30 January 2008|publisher=BBC|access-date=31 August 2008|archive-date=14 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114043807/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/ron_goodwin.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> and journalist [[Angela Rippon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.thisishampshire.net/2000/8/19/83742.html |title=The talented Angela Rippon |date=19 August 2000 |work=This Is Hampshire |access-date=31 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725033436/http://archive.thisishampshire.net/2000/8/19/83742.html |archive-date=25 July 2009 }}</ref> and comedian [[Dawn French]]. Canadian politician and legal scholar [[Chris Axworthy]] hailed from Plymouth.<ref>Roberts, David. Why Chris Axworthy feels at home. The Globe and Mail. October 30, 1999. p. A22</ref> America based actor [[Donald Moffat]], whose roles include American Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in the film ''[[The Right Stuff (film)|The Right Stuff]]'', and fictional President Bennett in ''[[Clear and Present Danger (film)|Clear and Present Danger]]'', was born in Plymouth.<ref>{{cite news |last= Eve |first= Carl |date= 24 December 2018 |title= Plymouth-born Hollywood actor dies in US |url= https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-born-hollywood-actor-dies-2359222 |work= Plymouth Herald |access-date= 24 July 2021 |archive-date= 4 March 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210304035800/https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-born-hollywood-actor-dies-2359222 |url-status= live }}</ref> Canadian actor [[Mark Holden (actor)|Mark Holden]] was also born in Plymouth. [[Kevin Owen]] is an international TV news anchor who was born in Freedom Fields Hospital, while his father served as a Royal Navy officer.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}} Cambridge spy [[Guy Burgess]] was born at 2 Albemarle Villas, Stoke whilst his father was a serving Royal Navy officer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guy Burgess|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/spies-of-the-cold-war-era/guy-burgess/|website=History Learning Site|language=en-GB|access-date=28 May 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806085906/https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/spies-of-the-cold-war-era/guy-burgess/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Twin city ==
* [[Brest, France|Brest]], France<ref name="twin">{{cite web|title=Plymouth's twin cities and the charming things we have in common|url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/plymouths-twin-cities-charming-things-3667510|work=Plymouth Herald|date=5 January 2020|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=8 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208131644/https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/plymouths-twin-cities-charming-things-3667510|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Gdynia]], Poland<ref name="twin" />
* [[Novorossiysk]], Russia<ref name="twin" />
* [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]], United States<ref name="twin" />
* [[San Sebastián]], Spain<ref name="twin" />

==Freedom of the City==
The following People, Military Units and Organisations and Groups have received the [[Freedom of the City]] of Plymouth.

{{Incomplete list|date=November 2021}}

===Individuals===
* [[Mark Ormrod (Royal Marine)|Mark Ormrod]]: 22 November 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/plymouth/news/mark-ormrod-named-freeman-of-the-city/ |title=Former Royal Marine from Plymouth to be awarded Freedom of the City  |last=Squires |first=Sophie |date=23 November 2021 |website=Planet Radio |access-date=24 November 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/true-hero-legend-mark-ormrod-6245237 |title='True hero and legend' Mark Ormrod awarded freedom of Plymouth  |last=Clark |first=Daniel |date=23 November 2021 |website=The Plymouth Herald |access-date=24 November 2021 }}</ref>
* [[Tom Daley|Thomas Robert Daley]]: 17 February 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plymouth gives Tom Daley Freedom of the City |publisher=BBC News |date=13 September 2021 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-58544754 |access-date=15 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/other-sport/tom-daley-extremely-delighted-freedom-5911354 |title=Tom Daley 'extremely delighted' with Freedom of Plymouth honour  |last=Clark |first=Daniel |date=13 September 2021 |website=The Plymouth Herarld |access-date=15 September 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/tom-daley-honorary-freeman-plymouth-5909647 |title=Tom Daley will be honorary freeman of Plymouth after gold medal win  |last=Watson |first=Eve |date=13 September 2021 |website=The Plymouth Herarld |access-date=15 September 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Daley to become Freeman of the City |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsroom/plymouthnews/daleybecomefreemancity |website=Plymouth City Council |access-date=15 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Daley receives Freedom of City at end of epic challenge |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/tomdaleyreceivesfreedomcityendepicchallenge |website=Plymouth City Council |date=17 February 2022 |access-date=31 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Lewis Pugh]]: 27 March 2023.
* [[Heather Knight (cricketer)|Heather Knight]]: 27 March 2023.
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouths-lewis-pugh-heather-knight-8267446# |title=Plymouth's Lewis Pugh and Heather Knight set to receive Freedom of the City  |last=Denton |first=Maxine |date=20 March 2023 |website=The Plymouth Herald |access-date=20 March 2023 }}</ref>

===Military Units===
* [[42 Commando]], [[Royal Marines|RM]]: 1955.<ref>{{cite web | last=Channon | first=Max | title=How the Royal Marines' finest chapter began 60 years ago | website=PlymouthLive | date=2020-03-15 | url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/history/royal-marines-most-successful-chapter-3941662 | access-date=2020-12-08}}</ref>
* The [[Merchant Navy]]: 22 March 2009.
* [[The Rifles]]: 25 September 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Freedom-City-honour-parade-Rifles/story-11731288-detail/story.html |title=Freedom of City honour and parade for The Rifles |publisher=This is Plymouth |date=11 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614041429/http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Freedom-City-honour-parade-Rifles/story-11731288-detail/story.html |archive-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The [[Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit]] [[Derriford Hospital|Derriford]]: 30 January 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Freedom of the City granted to Joint Hospital Group South West |url=https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/freedom-city-granted-joint-hospital-group-south-west |website=Plymouth City Council |date=31 January 2023 |access-date=19 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===Organisations and Groups===
* Veterans of the [[Falklands War]]: 25 June 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Falklands veterans to be given Freedom of Plymouth |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-60749938 |publisher=BBC News Devon |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forces.net/armed-forces-day-2022/falklands-war-veterans-given-freedom-city-plymouth |title=Falklands War veterans given freedom of the city of Plymouth on Armed Forces Day  |last=Williams |first=Briohny |date=26 June 2022 |website=Forces News |access-date=3 July 2022 }}</ref>
* The Federation of Plymouth and District Ex-Services Associations: 19 June 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckk993l96y7o |title=Veterans' association awarded Freedom of the City  |last=Barnes |first=Georgina |date=19 June 2023 |website=BBC News |access-date=30 June 2023 }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Devon}}
* [[Fortifications of Plymouth]]
* [[Grade I listed buildings in Plymouth]]
* [[Grade II* listed buildings in Plymouth]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
* Gould, Jeremy (2010). ''[https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/plymouth-modern-city/plymouth/ Plymouth: Vision of a modern city]''. English Heritage 
*{{cite book|last=Dunning|first=Martin|year=2001|title=Around Plymouth|publisher=Frith Book}}
* {{cite book|last=Gill|first=Crispin|year=1993|title=Plymouth: A New History|publisher=Devon Books}}
* {{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Chris|year=2004|title=Plymouth Then & Now|publisher=Plymouth Prints}}
* {{cite book|last=Casley|first=Nicholas|year=1997|title=The Medieval Incorporation of Plymouth and a Survey of the Borough's Bounds|publisher=Old Plymouth Society}}
* {{cite book|last=Carew|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Carew (antiquary)|year=1555|title=The Survey of Cornwall|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/srvcr10.txt}} ''N.B. Carew refers to Plymouth Hoe as "the Hawe at Plymmouth"''
* {{cite book|last1=Abercrombie|first1=Patrick|author-link=Patrick Abercrombie|first2=James |last2=Watson|first3= Laurence |last3=Stamp |first4= Gilbert |last4=Robinson|title=A Plan for Plymouth|publisher=Underhill|date=27 April 1944|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAYcAAAAIAAJ}} ''N.B. the publication carries the date 1943, although published on 27 April 27, 1944 [https://web.archive.org/web/20131030101825/http://plymouthdata.info/Plan%20for%20Plymouth.htm A Plan for Plymouth – The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History]''
* W Best Harris – Plymouth – Plymouth Council of Social Service (undated)
* W Best Harris – Stories From Plymouth's History – Self-Published, Plymouth (undated)
* W Best Harris – The Book of Plymouth – Guild of Social Service, Plymouth (undated)
* W Best Harris – The New Book of Plymouth – Guild of Social Service, Plymouth (undated)
* W Best Harris – The Second Book of Plymouth – Guild of Social Service, Plymouth, 1957
* W Best Harris – Place Names of Plymouth, Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley – Self-Published, Plymouth, 1983
* W Best Harris – Welcome to Plymouth – Plymouth City Council (undated)

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Plymouth}}
{{Wikivoyage|Plymouth (England)|Plymouth}}
* [https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/ Plymouth City Council website] 
* [http://www.dataplymouth.co.uk/ Plymouth City Council's open data website]

{{City of Plymouth}}{{SW England}}
{{UK cities}}
{{Devon}}
{{Unitary authorities of England}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Plymouth, Devon| ]]
[[Category:Cities in South West England]]
[[Category:Towns in Devon]]
[[Category:Non-metropolitan districts of Devon]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Devon]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in South West England]]
[[Category:Unitary authority districts of England]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in Devon]]
[[Category:Boroughs in England]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Devon]]