PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Admiralty House, at Mount Wise, Devonport, was the private residence of the Port-Admiral, whose offices were nearby.
Two postcard views of Admiralty House, Mount Wise, Devonport. It was built in 1795 by the Duke of Richmond, who also built Richmond Walk around the water front. The then First Lord of the Admiralty, the Right Honourable The Earl of Auckland, dined at Admiralty House with the Port-Admiral, Admiral Sir John West, on the evening before the laying of the foundation stone of the new Keyham Steam Yard. On the lawn at the front of Admiralty House, visible in both the photographs above, was a huge, iron bell said to weigh about 19 cwt. This was brought from China by the crew of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS "Pique" and presented in July 1903 to the Commander-in-Chief at Devonport, Sir Edward H Seymour GCB OM. Said to be around 900 years old and inscribed with the name of the then Emperor of China, the bell was discovered by some of the ship's crew in an ancient temple or pagoda at Shan-hai-kwan. [1] In 1935 the more modern Government House became available and the then Commander-in-Chief took over that property and renamed it Admiralty House. Admiralty House was then handed over to the War Department and was renamed
Hamoaze
House. Sources:
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