History of Plymouth Page 3

The Barbican and The Royal Citadel

One of the most important areas of Plymouth is that of The Barbican. The city suffered much devastation during the Second World War but The Barbican area of the city remained mostly intact. This means that today The Barbican provides a good contrast showing old buildings against the new. Much of the city's larger more recent developments have been in areas which saw a lot of bombing during the war.

The Barbican first became important during Elizabethan times and both Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake have lived there. The Pilgrim Fathers also held their last meeting in this part of the town before they set sail for The New World in 1620. Today the area is filled with small shops and restaurants, and the large marina is filled with yachts and pleasure boats rather than the ships of the explorers of four hundred years ago.

Another historic landmark in Plymouth is the Royal Citadel. This was first commissioned by Charles II in an attempt to fortify the area. It was built from 1666 to 1670 and consisted of 25 feet high limestone walls, which ran for half a mile. The fort had 152 guns, which could be used to defend the whole sea area around the town, but they could also be used to fire down on Plymouth itself. Perhaps Charles II bore in mind what had happened to his father's forces just twenty years earlier, when they were prevented from entering Plymouth during the Civil War!