Plymouth was accounted a mean fishing town

Writing in the early seventeenth century, Tristram Risdon summed up the great geographical advantage that had accelerated Plymouth's importance when he wrote: It is not long since Plymouth was accounted a mean fishing town, until the conveniency of the haven, which, without striking sail admitteth into its bosom the tallest ships that be, where they ride safe, in either of the two rivers, to take the opportunity of the first wind. In 1778 Stuart Amos Arnold published an eighteenth-century navigation manual called The Merchant and Seaman’s Guardian in the British Channel. In it he gave detailed instructions to navigate into the port using the ancient system of seamarks, lining up landmarks by eye to chart a course through and past hazards. In sailing into Plymouth take care of the Shovel and Tinker rocks; on the former is sixteen, on the latter seventeen feet. The mark to sail in clear of them, is to keep Plymouth old church just open to the west of the citadel wall. Sail in with this mark till you bring Withy hedge right up and down, and Drake’s island North West or open Mount Edgecombe, when you may anchor in six and seven fathom, coarse sand. If bound for Hamoaze, take care of the Winter Rock (on which there is a beacon) that lies between Drake’s Island and the main. Go between the rock and east part of the island, and give the island a good birth. to clear the German Rock, which lies about two thirds of a cable’s length from the shore, and has a beacon on it, as soon as you are abreast of the rock, which you will know by running the stone wall on Block-house point right up and down, steer over towards Mount Edgecombe till you open the Passage point and Blockhouse point; then haul over for Stone-pool, till you have hid Drake’s island behind Block-house point. And to clear Passage-rock has a beacon on it, bring Stonehouse on the Old Gun-wharf crane; run that mark on till you bring a large fall-gate gate, that is on the hill above the Passage-house, and the highest opposite. chimnies on the Passage-house in one; then steer safely in for Hamoaze, and anchor in thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen fathom, or less water at pleasure. These directions give a glimpse into a lost landscape, where patches of willow were significant enough to be landmarks visible from the Sound. Once moored, what might the merchant expect on arrival? A number of travel writers described seventeenth-century Plymouth, among them Celia Fiennes in her epic journey Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary in 1698. She was delighted by the appearance of the local stone, which she referred to as ‘marble’ which made Plympton ‘look white like snow’. From there she rode down the banks of the River Plym to the town itself. Plymouth is two parishes called the .old town and the new, the houses all built of this marble and the slatt, slate at the top look like led and glisters in the sun; there are no great houses in the town; the streetes are good and clean, there is a great many though some are but narrow; they are mostly inhabited by seamen and those which have affaires on the sea, for here up to the town there is a depth of water for shipps of the first rate to ride; its great sea and dangerous by reason of the severall points of land between which the sea runs up a great way, and there are severall little islands alsoe, all which beares the tydes hard one against the other; there are two keyes the one is a broad space which leads you up into the broad streete and is used in manner of an exchange for the merchants meeting, for in this street alsoe is a fine cross and alsoe a long Market House set on stone pillars; there are several good conduits to carry the water to the town, which conveyance the famous Sir Francis Drake which did encompass the world in Queen Elizabeth's days and landed safe at Plymouth, he gave this to the town; there are two churches in the town but nothing fine; I was in the best and saw only King Charles the First Picture at length at prayer just as its cut on the frontispiece of the Irenicum, this picture was drawn and given the Church when he was in his troubles for some piece of service shown him; the altar stands in the Chancell or railed place, but it stands table wise the length and not up against the wall; the font was of marble; there are four large Meetings of the Descenters in the town takeing in the Quakers and Anabaptists.