PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The Crownhill district of Plymouth is centred on the junction of the Plymouth to Tavistock Road, the A386, and what are now known as Fort Austin Avenue, to the east, and Crownhill Road, to the west. Fort Austin Avenue was formerly Widey Lane and then Widey Road whereas Crownhill Road was previously known as Saltash Road. The village that grew up at the junction was called Knackersnowle, although before the advent of spelling it was also known as Knackers Hole. Further up the road to Tavistock, on its eastern side, was a small group of houses that sat on the crown of the hill, 400 feet above sea level. Not surprisingly they were known by the very appropriate name of Crown Hill. In 1860 when the War Department decided to construct a massive fort on this high plateau, it was necessary to divert the main road slightly to the east and this wiped out the little group of houses. It must therefore have seemed appropriate to call the fort Crownhill Fort. However, the village remained as Knackersnowle and was still known by that name in April 1889. But as the biggest thing in the area was Crownhill Fort it must have seemed best to call the village by the much more pleasant title of Crown Hill. In July 1889 that name was certainly in use. Until the War Department took possession of parts of the land the boundaries between the four ancient parishes that met here were better defined. This map shows how it looked in 1933.
Weston Peverell Parish Egg Buckland Parish
It clearly shows that almost the entire Crownhill Barracks fell within the parish of Eggbuckland, as did the village school. Crownhill Fort was mostly in the parish of Saint Budeaux but not quite all of it. The chapel-of-ease, Holy Trinity, was right on the edge of Saint Budeaux, the southern wall marking the start of Eggbuckland parish.
Crownhill Village with Baskerville's
Horse Bus from Roborough Source:
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