PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The Plymouth Data Website was eight years old on January 7th 2010. During 2009 the site received 518,437 unique visits and they viewed 1,026,122 webpages. That is almost one visit every minute of the day. It doesn't earn me a penny but many thanks to you all, especially those who have taken the trouble to express their appreciation. How it all began My interest in publishing started in 1957, at the age of 10, when I produced a book for a class exhibition at primary school. My interest in local history started around 1961 when I became curious about the name over my local sub post office -- Keyham Barton. What did the Barton refer to? When I found out that a Barton was a Manor House and that Barton Avenue was said to be built on the site of it, I went in search of a map to see where it was. My diary records that I first climbed the stairs to the Plymouth Local Studies Library on Saturday December 2nd 1961. I proved that Barton Avenue was NOT built on the site of Keyham Barton and I suppose that started me on my constant quest for the truth about the dates and information used in Plymouth history. The Book Era In December 1963 I produced my first local history booklet, "A Short History of Sutton High School (Plymouth)". This was followed in December 1964 by "The History Transport in Plymouth, Part 1 (1872-1914)". Part 2 never materialised because the research was unearthing more new material than I could cope with. The purchase of a brand new foolscap duplicating machine enabled a larger page size to be produced for "Shipping on the River Dart" in June 1965. This was my first non-Plymouth booklet and was produced with the full co-operation of the River Dart Steamboat Company Ltd, who gave me access to previously unseen material. A second school history followed in October 1967, "A Short History of Plympton Grammar School". Although produced after research at the School amongst the old log books, it was largely knocked on the head by the Headmaster when he realised I had discovered that there was a School Song. A few copies of the original were sold but most have the School Song physically cut out. The first properly printed booklet was a second edition of "Shipping on the River Dart", published in June 1969. This was followed two years later by a new innovation, a reproduction of the "Devonport & District Tramways Company, Speeds and Stops Regulations 1914". I guess this was inspired by the facsimile editions of old books then being published by Messrs David & Charles Ltd, of Newton Abbot. A new era of professionally printed books began in May 1979 with "Plymouth Walkabout", a series of walks around historic parts of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport. The most successful book published to date, and the only hardback, was "Vanishing Plymouth". This was a collection of previously unpublished pictures of buildings demolished during the reconstruction of Plymouth in the 1950s and 1960s. Originally published in December 1982, it was reprinted in October 1988. Finally came the six editions of "Plymouth Through the Lens" published between September 1985 and September 1993. These were intended to continue the theme of "Vanishing Plymouth" but expand it to include older photographs of Plymouth as well. The plan was very successful at first but sales fell off starkly during the 1990s. Furthermore, the realisation that other local historians were reproducing the pictures without copyright permission or acknowledgement and the end of the Net Book Agreement, which sparked a huge increase in the retail prices of books, made me decide to abandon book publishing altogether. The Website Era There then followed a long lull of disenchantment until I suffered a heart attack in 2001. How the Plymouth Data Website came to be developed is now told elsewhere. The website currently runs to 1,800 pages and is revised or updated as quickly as I can. The site is still growing, either by the addition of material already in my collection or by my ever continuing research. New webpages are being added regularly and thus what is not there today may well be there tomorrow. How to use the website Start with the A - Z Contents Page. This lists all the subjects covered by the encyclopaedia. The entries are arranged by subject or in some cases by individual title. The largest sections are those on Churches and Other Places of Worship, Memorials and Monuments and Schools. When searching with Google, just type "Plymouth" in front of what ever subject you are searching for. Conventions Readers should be warned that some old fashioned conventions are followed in the text. Hyphens and apostrophes have gone out of fashion -- except on Plymouth Data. The terms Mr, Mrs, Master and Miss are frequently used in order to denote the men from the boys and, in the case of the females, the unmarried from the married, always helpful when trying to identify members of a family. One unusual convention is that the First World War is always referred to as the Great War - simply because at the time it happened that is what it was known as and documents and reports of the time used that terminology. Nobody expected there to be a second one. Family history Please note that Plymouth Data is not a family history website but wherever possible I have included personal names as I know these will be of interest. I am now feeding information about the not-so prominent citizens of Plymouth to the Devon Family History Society at Tree House, Exeter, and enquiries should be directed to them. Research service I do not offer a research service and I have now withdrawn my enquiry facility as it was diverting me from the task of putting my information on the website, which is my priority. Photographs Photographs are included on Plymouth Data purely for illustrative purposes. Copies are NOT available. There are five main suppliers of historical photos of Plymouth: please see the Links webpage. The Plymouth Data Team There is no team. I do everything, from the research to the writing and the maintenance of the site. Funding The site is funded from my pension. There are no grants from Plymouth City Council, the Co-operative, or any other local body and no funding from the National Lottery. And finally ... ..... can I emphasise that this Website is about Plymouth past. For information about Plymouth present, like hotels, attractions, events, etc., please see the Tourist Information Centres page. There are also some useful sites in Links. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I also acknowledge the help of Anne Morgan, Deborah Watson, Alan Barclay and Ian Conday of the Plymouth & West Devon Record Office along with the former archivists Paul Brough and Sam Johnston. I still remember when former City archivist Keith Holt, who sadly died suddenly in 2009, introduced me to the collection of old newspapers that were housed in the basement of the Library building, way back in the 1960s. I also acknowledge the enormous debt that the City owes to its other historians like Worth, Yorkshire-born Llewellyn Jewitt, Whitfeld, Bracken, Exeter-born R A J Walling, Crispin Gill, and Sussex-born Chris Robinson. Lastly I should like to thank Mr Tom Jewell, of the Devon Family History Society in Exeter, along with members of the Plymouth Group, for their valued assistance in researching Prominent Citizens. Thank you for visiting the Plymouth Data Website. Brian Moseley
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