Devonport owes its present importance to a naval arsenal established here in the reign of William III. under the name of Plymouth Dock, which name it retained till 1824. It was first fortified in the reign of George II.; but the fortifications have since been considerably enlarged and improved. The town is well built, and the footpaths are paved with marble, obtained in the neighbourhood. A wall twelve feet high defends the town on the north-east and southwest; and the heavy batteries on Mount Wise protect the entrance from the sea. Devonport contains three Episcopal chapels, several meeting-houses and schools, a small theatre, an assembly room, a beautiful promenade, called Richmond Walk, &c. The dockyard is one of the finest in the world, and comprises an area of seventy-one acres. It contains many objects of great interest, such as the blacksmith's shop, the rigging-house, the boiling-house, the mast-house, the mast-pond, and the rope-houses. Thirty-two telegraphic stations connect this place with the Admiralty in London. Devonport returns two members to Parliament, in conjunction with the parish of Stoke Damerall, and the township of Stonehouse. Pop. in 1841, 43,532. Across the Crimble Passage is Mount Edgecombe, the seat of the Earl of that name, a magnificent mansion, finely situated, and commanding extensive and beautiful prospects. The house contains a number of portraits, and a well-furnished library. 48 ON LEFT FROM EXET. Newton Park, W. H Hellyar, Esq. LISKEARD, an ancient and irregularly built town, partly situated on rocky hills, and partly in a vale. The church is a handsome building, erected in 1627. The town formerly returned 2 M. P. but now only 1. It carries on a considerable trade in tanning. Pop.4287. 4 m. N.W. of Liskeard is St Neots, having one of the finest parish churches in the kingdom. It is of date 1480, and occupies the site of a monastery that stood there in the time of Edward the Confessor. LOSTWITHIEL, an ancient town, on the beautiful river Fowey, has a considerable woollen-trade. The parish church, erected in the fourteenth century, is adorned with a fine spire. It was used as a barrack by the parliament army, and was injured by an explosion of gunpowder. It contains a curious font. To the south of the church are the ruins of a building called the palace, said to have been the residence of the Dukes of Cornwall, but now a stannary prison. The borough formerly returned 2 M. P., but is now disfranchised. Pop. 1186. 61 To Devonport by Torpoint, 16 m. To Saltash, 14 m. To St Germains, 9 m. The church of St Germains was once the cathedral of the bishoprick of Cornwall. It contains the original prebendal stalls, and several members of the Eliot family. In the vicinity is Port Eliot, the seat of the Earl of St Germains, on the site of an ancient priory. On the coast, 10 miles from Liskeard, are the small towns of East and West Looe, chiefly remarkable for their picturesque appearance. Boconnoc, seat of the late Lord Grenville, containing some very curious furniture. In the grounds is an obelisk to the memory of Sir Richard Lyttleton. Boconnoc was formerly the property of the grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham.) The church dates its erection from the time of Henry VI. Pelyn N. Kendall, Esq. 5 m. dist. is the fishing town of Fowey, in a highly romantie situation. The surrounding scenery is very beautiful. It was once a place of importance. The contingent to the fleet of Edward II. on the expedition to Calais, from Fowey was greater in ships than from any other port in the kingdom. Near it is Menabilly (W. Rashleigh, Esq.) containing a most valuable collection of minerals. Prideaux, Sir J. C. Rashleigh, Bart., 1 m. dist. |