Plymouth Dome is a restaurant which was a former museum and visitor attraction on

Plymouth Hoe Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south-facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands views of Plymouth ...

, Plymouth,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. The museum opened in 1989 and closed in 2006. The museum had a variety of themed galleries covering the history of Plymouth as well as two observation galleries overlooking

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abou ...

. The current tenants opened Ocean View Bar and Dining at The Dome in 2021.

History

Opening

Plymouth Dome was built in 1988, and although it was not opened to the public until 1989, Queen Elizabeth II visited the building on 20 July 1988, during which she unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first battle of the Spanish Armada. An official opening followed in November by diplomat and academic

Bryce Harland William Bryce Harland (11 December 1931 – 1 February 2006) was a New Zealand diplomat and academic, who served as New Zealand's first Ambassador to China, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and High Commissioner to Lon ...

, the then-High Commissioner for New Zealand.

Lease to Wykeham Group

In 2004, it was revealed by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' that the museum attracted 60,000 visitors a year. However, in 2006, falling visitor numbers led

Plymouth City Council Plymouth City Council is the unitary authority for Plymouth, Devon. It has traditionally been controlled by Labour or the Conservatives. The council is currently in a state of no overall control, with the Conservatives governing as a minority a ...

to consider the attraction's future. In March,

agreed to lease the building to the Wykeham Group, who were to invest £750,000 in creating a restaurant within an exhibition area in the building. However, the plans never came to fruition, and the Plymouth Dome subsequently closed.

''Rhodes @ The Dome''

The building remained empty for over five years. In late 2011, it was announced that celebrity chef

Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019) was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as ''MasterChef'', '' Mas ...

intended to reopen it as a restaurant. Although originally due to open in late 2012, the £1.5 million restaurant ''Rhodes @ The Dome'' opened in January 2013. Rhodes ended his association with the restaurant in January 2016 and it was re-branded as "The Dome".

References

{{coord, 50.36383, N, 4.14203, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Tourist attractions in Plymouth, Devon Museums in Devon Defunct museums in England Museums established in 1989 Museums disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in England