The Royal Citadel in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, was built in the late 1660s to the design of Sir Bernard de Gomme. It is at the eastern end of

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, Devon. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and commands views of Pl ...

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 abo ...

, and encompasses the site of the earlier fort that had been built in the time of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

. The citadel site is a Scheduled Monument and many of the buildings within are

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

Drake's Fort

In 1590, Sir Francis Drake was appointed to improve the defences of Plymouth. After setting up some temporary artillery batteries, Drake petitioned the Privy Council for the funds to build a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

on Plymouth Hoe that could dominate the

Cattewater The city of Plymouth, Devon, England is bounded by Dartmoor to the north, the Hamoaze to the west, the open expanse of water called Plymouth Sound to the south and the river Plym to the east. The Cattewater is that stretch of water where the mout ...

, the approach to Sutton Harbour, which at that time was the main port at Plymouth. By May 1592,

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

had decided that the fort could be funded by a tax on every

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large Barrel (storage), cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial Product (business), product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial ...

of pilchards which was exported from Plymouth. Construction of the fort dragged on until 1596 and was only finished after the government had drafted in a further 500 labourers. The northern landward side of the fort was protected by two

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s and it enclosed the previously established batteries overlooking the Cattewater, and also the Fisher's Nose Blockhouse, located on its south east corner, which dates from about 1540. A further blockhouse called Queen Elizabeth's Tower was built a short distance to the west of Fisher's Nose.

Design and construction of the Citadel

Royal Citadel main gate.jpg, The Baroque main gate of the Royal Citadel. Note the date 1670 above the arch Gomme, Sir Bernard de (English) 1666-7 and 1672. Two plans of the citadel at Plymouth. RMG K1029.jpg, De Gomme's original designs for the Royal Citadel During the

Dutch Wars Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, ...

of 1664-67 King Charles II decided that it was necessary to realise the importance of Plymouth as a channel port. The original plan was to build a regular self-contained fort with five

s, to the west of Drake's Fort, but this was revised to take in the earlier fort, resulting in the Citadel's irregular outline. Possibly due to Plymouth's support for the Parliamentarians in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

its guns could also fire on the town. De Gomme faced some criticism over his unorthodox design: for instance when

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

visited in 1683 he wrote that "De Gomme hath built very sillily". Work began in March 1665, but it was not until 18 July 1666 that the foundation stone was laid by John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. This stone, inscribed 'Jo Earle of Bathe 1666', is still in the wall facing the Hoe. Elements from the earlier Tudor fort were incorporated into the new work. The Citadel is built of local

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, while the

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

gateway, designed by Sir Thomas Fitz, is of Portland stone. The gateway was originally approached by a drawbridge over a dry moat, but these were removed with all the other

outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structur ...

s in the 1880s. On the opposite bank to Fisher's Nose is the Queen Anne's Battery, dating from 1667.

Later use

File:The Citadel of Plymouth, July 25th, 1737 - Original.jpg, The Citadel in 1737 The Royal Citadel was the most important English defence for over 100 years, with 70 ft high walls, and was regularly strengthened over the years, particularly during the 1750s when it was equipped with 113 guns. In 1860, the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommended the construction of a new ring of forts to defend Plymouth from a greater distance, the "

Palmerston Forts The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the ...

"; however, the Citadel was still judged to be '...a valuable support to the works on the right of the "North-Eastern Defences".' During the later Victorian period the Citadel was being used by the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

for instruction. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Citadel was used as the headquarters of the Coast Artillery Training Centre, Plymouth. After the war, the Coast Artillery School moved there from Great Orme, and the two institutions merged with the one remaining regular coast artillery regiment (47th Coast Regiment), which relocated to Plymouth from Dover to provide a depot establishment for the new Training Centre; training of recruits and others continued until the Coast Artillery was disbanded in 1956. The Royal Citadel is still occupied by the military, being the base of 29 Commando Regiment of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. This specialist

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

unit provides

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

support to the UK Commando Force. Guided tours are sometimes available. Immediately to the east of the Citadel, and contemporary with it, a Royal Navy Victualling Yard was established to serve the fleet in Plymouth Sound and Sutton Pool. This closed with the establishment of the Royal William Victualling Yard in the 1830s, since when the area has been used as an extension to the military base (and accommodates vehicles too large to pass through the seventeenth-century gateway).

Based units

The following notable units are based at Royal Citadel.

British Army

* UK Commando Force ** 29th Commando Regiment

Future

''A Better Defence Estate'', published in November 2016, indicates that the Ministry of Defence will dispose of the Royal Citadel by 2024. This was later extended to 2035.

Garrison church

The Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe was originally licensed for services in 1371. During the period 1666–1671, the original church was demolished and the present nave, chancel and sanctuary were rebuilt on the same site. The galleries and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were added in 1845 and give a cross-like structure to the building. King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

re-granted the title ''Royal Chapel'' in 1927 during a visit to the Royal Citadel.

Royal Citadel in the media

The 2011 BBC television series '' The Choir: Military Wives'' featured the Royal Citadel along with RMB Chivenor in Devon. The programme documented choirmaster Gareth Malone forming a choir of wives and partners of Royal Citadel personnel deployed on active service in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. In forming a choir, Malone aimed to raise the women's morale and raise their profile in the public perception. The song " Wherever You Are" was recorded by the Military Wives Choir and was the Christmas number one in 2011, with proceeds going to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

and SSAFA Forces Help.

Visitor access

Access to the Royal Citadel is by guided tour only.

Gallery

File:RGA Royal Citadel, c1905 01.jpg, Guard mounting by the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), Royal Citadel, 1905 File:Guns on the Citadel, Plymouth (5027).jpg, 105 mm Light Guns of

29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of the UK Commando Force, to which it provides artillery support and gunn ...

on the rampart at the Citadel. File:Stkatherineuponthehoe.JPG, The Royal Chapel of St Katherine-upon-the-Hoe within the precincts of the Citadel. File:Plan of the Town and Citadel of Plymouth, Benjamin Donn, 1765.jpg, "A Plan of the Town and Citadel of Plymouth" by Benjamin Donn in 1765. It shows the design of the Royal Citadel as completed, including the outworks which are now lost. File:Plymouth, The Royal Citadel - geograph.org.uk - 1564192.jpg, The southern bastions of the Citadel. File:The Royal Citadel, Plymouth from Mount Batten.jpg, The Royal Citadel as seen from

Mount Batten Mount Batten is a 24-metre (80-ft) tall outcrop of rock on a 600-metre (2000-ft) peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England, named after Sir William Batten (c.1600-1667), MP and Surveyor of the Navy; it was previously known as How Stert. Af ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{City of Plymouth Forts of Plymouth, Devon Royal Citadel Grade II* listed buildings in Devon Grade II listed buildings in Devon English Heritage sites in Devon Buildings and structures in Plymouth, Devon

Buildings and structures completed in 1666 1666 establishments in England Scheduled monuments in Devon