Plymouth
(
) is a
city
and
unitary authority
in
South West England
. It is on the south coast of
Devon
, about 36 miles (58 km) south-west of
Exeter
and 193 miles (311 km) south-west of
London
.
Cornwall
is to its west and south-west.
Humans in the Plymouth area started in the
Bronze Age
when a first
settlement
was made at
Mount Batten
. This settlement continued as a place for
trading
for the
Roman Empire
, until the nearby village of Sutton started in the ninth century was used instead, which is now called Plymouth. In 1588, an English fleet from Plymouth defeated the
Spanish Armada
. In 1620, the
Pilgrim Fathers
left Plymouth for the
New World
and started
Plymouth Colony
, the second English settlement in what is now
Massachusetts
, United States. During the
English Civil War
, the town was held by the
Parliamentarians
.
Through the
Industrial Revolution
, Plymouth became a global
port
, with boats from the United States carrying passengers and
goods
. The nearby town of
Devonport
became important to the
Royal Navy
for its shipyards and dockyards. In 1914, three towns (the
county borough
of Plymouth, the
County Borough of Devonport
, and the
urban district
of
East Stonehouse
were merged, becoming the County Borough of Plymouth. In 1928, it became a city. During
World War II
, due to the city being important to the navy, the German military destroyed some of the city by
bombing
, an act known as the
Plymouth Blitz
. After the war, the city centre was completely rebuilt. Plymouth grew and the towns of
Plympton
,
Plymstock
became part of it in 1967.
The city has a
population
of 264,200 (mid-2016 est.) people, making it the
30th-most populous built-up area
in the United Kingdom and the second-largest city in the South West, after
Bristol
. It is
governed
locally by
Plymouth City Council
and nationally by two
MPs
. Plymouth's economy is based mostly on
ships
. It has ferry links to France (
Roscoff
and
St Malo
) and to Spain (
Santander
). It has the largest working naval base in Western Europe,
HMNB Devonport
, and also has the
University of Plymouth
. Plymouth is called a "Small-Port City" using the Southampton System for port-city classification.
[4]
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth has his
cathedral
here. Plymouth was badly affected by German
bombing
during the
Second World War
, when many
buildings
were destroyed. The
Plymouth Fathers
and the
Plymouth Brethren
were both named after Plymouth. Plymouth is linked to Saltash in Cornwall by two bridges across the River Tamar: the Royal Albert Bridge (built in 1859) carries the railway line to Penzance and the Tamar Bridge the A38 main road. On
Plymouth Hoe
is the third lighthouse, which used to stand on the Eddystone Rock in the
English Channel
.
It has a
football
team called
Plymouth Argyle
and a
rugby football
team called Plymouth Albion.
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