Royal William Victualling Yard
The Royal William Victualling Yard in
The Yard was released from the
Described as the grandest of the royal victualling yards, 'in its externally largely unaltered state it remains today one of the most magnificent industrial monuments in the country'.[1]
Origins in Old Plymouth
Plymouth had been involved in victualling the English fleet since the 13th century.[2] In the 1650s the Commonwealth government built victualling storehouses on Lambhay Hill next to Hoe Fort (which would soon be rebuilt as the Royal Citadel), with manufacturing taking place at various locations around the old harbour and a wharf providing a loading area for ships in Sutton Pool (albeit only accessible at high tide).
Following the establishment of a
Towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Victualling establishment at Lambhay is described as 'an extensive range of buildings lying by the side of the Catwater harbour',[5] including:
- A Cooperage (office, workshops and yard for repairing barrels)
- Offices (for the Agent Victualler, Clerk of the Cheque and Clerk of the Stores)
- Residence (for the Agent Victualler) and gardens
- Two bake-houses (each with four ovens)
- Several granaries and storehouses
The wharf in front had a small jetty attached.[5]
Following the establishment of the Royal William Victualling Yard, the old Yard at Lambhay was closed; its buildings were sold in 1835 and from 1847 several of them were used as a Government Emigration Depot. In 1897 they were renamed Elphinstone Barracks, accommodating a torpedo depot of the Royal Engineers, before being demolished in the 1930s.[6]
The new Yard in Stonehouse
In 1821 it was decided to centralise Plymouth's victualling provision in a new location. The area then known as 'Cremill Point' was chosen, both for its 'great depth of water' and for its equal proximity to the Dockyard, the
The Yard consolidated in one place various victualling activities from around the Plymouth area, including the brewing of beer, the slaughtering of live animals for fresh meat, the manufacture of barrels, the baking of bread and biscuits and the production of flour; as well as providing space for administration, accommodation and large amounts of storage. No sooner had it been built, however, than the intended function of the Yard began to change: abolition of the Navy beer ration in 1831 meant that beer was only ever brewed in very small quantities in the Yard (just enough for the nearby
Description
The Royal William Victualling Yard is arranged around a deep basin lined with granite (designed to accommodate half a dozen 'transports' or merchant vessels).[2] This basin provided the main point of access from the sea, although a double set of steps rising from a landing-stage below the Clarence Building provided a fitting entrance for dignitaries arriving by boat. A tunnel entrance was also provided, giving access from Firestone Bay (on the opposite side of the promontory), where boats could be landed in the event of vessels being prevented (e.g. by a strong tide or adverse weather) from reaching the basin.[2] The main access from land was (and is) through a grand gateway at the end of Cremyll Street, a high wall having been built around the landward portion of the site for its security. A reservoir to the south provided the Yard with an independent supply of fresh water.[7]
The buildings
The Royal William Yard includes a collection of
- Clarence
Positioned at the opposite end of the yard to the gatehouse, the Clarence building closes the vista along the main thoroughfare. Begun in 1827 (the first structure to be built on the site), it was originally used as a liquid store with one floor each of spirits, vinegar and beer (use of iron for the roof, doors, windows etc. was to mitigate against the flammability of alcohol). As needs changed, so did the role of the Clarence Store, and latterly the building was used for the storage of spares and components.[8]
Clarence is now an award-winning conversion comprising 52 contemporary apartments.
- Brewhouse
Although purpose built in 1832, it was never actually equipped as a brewhouse since emerging technology was allowing large quantities of fresh water to be carried at sea, eliminating the need for the beer rations. (A shed was later built to store ships water tanks within the Brewhouse courtyard, where they had been stored from as early as 1840.)[9] The building itself stood empty until 1885, when the west wing was converted into a new slaughterhouse, with cattle lairs, a meat store and a vegetable store; at the same time the east wing functioned as a rum store and the central engine house was repurposed to provide hydraulic power to the Yard's many cranes.[1] Later, for much of the 20th century, the Brewhouse housed a torpedo workshop.[1]
The subject of an award-winning conversion, this building has 78 apartments, together with ground floor commercial space for exhibitions, cafés and restaurants.
- Cooperage
Originally a combination of workshops, offices and storage/seasoning space (built around a pair of concentric quadrangles) the cooperage accommodated 100 coopers to make the barrels and kegs in which the produce of the Yard could be stored and transported. In 1869, however, the Navy decided to concentrate the majority of its barrel manufacturing work at Deptford;[2] the coopers' skills were still required at Stonehouse (for repairs and production of smaller items) but their numbers declined over time until only 12 were employed. In 1891 the coopers and other craftsmen based there were transferred to the New Cooperage (q.v.), to make way for the newly established Navy Ordnance Board. The Board transformed the Old Cooperage into a machine shop and ordnance store, and in 1916 the courtyards were roofed over.[10]
In 2015 the eastern half of the outer quadrangle was converted into an arts venue, Ocean Studios; the eastern half was later due to be turned into residential units, with the central quadrangle serving as an 'events space'.[11]
- Melville
Quadrangular storehouse building, designed, built and operated as the nerve centre of the whole of the Royal William Yard; begun in 1829, this was the second building to be constructed on the site.[2] All administration was carried out here and it served as a major storehouse for food, clothing and equipment.[12] As of 2014 it was scheduled to be converted into a hotel.[13] The central cupola contains the yard's original (and still functioning) quarter-chiming clock of 1831 by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy.[14]
In 2023 work was underway to create 40 flats within the Melville block; other parts of the building contain offices, restaurants, a gym and a cinema.[15]
- New Cooperage
Sixty years after the Yard was completed, the New Cooperage was built to house the coopers and others tradesmen displaced by the Naval Ordnance Board and its workshops. Here there was room for painters, wheelwrighters and a host of other skilled men needed to keep the Royal Navy in perfect trim. Its final use was a survival pack ration and equipment store.
Today it houses offices, a restaurant and retail premises.[16]
- Mills and Bakery
The northern range of this complex of buildings contained a central
The building is now known as Mills Bakery and includes 86 apartments, commercial and office space.
- Main Gate
The Gatehouse, together with the adjacent Guardhouse and Slaughterhouse, was begun in 1830. The granite 'triumphal arch' gateway is topped by a 13-foot statue of King William IV (the Yard's namesake). It also displays the crossed anchor device of the Victualling Commissioners.[18]
- Slaughterhouse
Behind the colonnade is a long triangular yard, which had cattle pens along one side, the slaughterhouse on the other and an office at the far end.
More recently, the Slaughterhouse was used as a centre for building repair and maintenance, before being converted into a restaurant.[16]
- The Guardhouse
This small complex comprised a porter's lodge, guardhouse and warden's accommodation.
It has now been restored and is occupied as a small office space and art studio.[16]
- Residences 1 and 2
These two grand houses were built for civil service officers in the Royal William Yard and were continuously occupied as homes until shortly after Plymouth Development Corporation took over ownership.[20]
Residence 2 is currently utilised as office space while Residence 1 is now a Boutique Hotel.[21]
Restoration and conversion
Early conservation and restoration work was carried out by Gilmore Hankey Kirke Architects. Together with Acanthus Ferguson Mann Architects they were awarded by the RIBA in the South West region for the Clarence and Brewhouse buildings. The scheme is also a winner of a RIBA 2006 Conservation Awards, which recognise best practice in the field of building conservation. Continued restoration, conservation and conversion of these Georgian Buildings has been carried out by Urban Splash with Gillespie Yunnie Architects. The site is open to the public and offers the 'Tunnel to Firestone Bay' a public basin for visiting boats and restaurants, cafés and public events.
50°21′42.12″N 4°09′53.1″W / 50.3617000°N 4.164750°W
References
- ^ a b c d e f Coad, Jonathan (2013). Support for the Fleet. Swindon: English Heritage.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nix, Michael (1998). An Illustrated History of Naval Victualling in Plymouth. Plymouth: Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.
- ^ a b Morriss, Roger (2010). The Foundations of British Maritime Ascendancy: Resources, Logistics and the State, 1755–1815. Cambridge University Press. p. 284.
- ^ The Picture of Plymouth. London: Rees & Curtis. 1812. p. 96.
- ^ a b The Picture of Plymouth. London: Rees & Curtis. 1812. p. 71.
- ^ "Historic pier to get makeover". Plymouth News Room. Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Historic England Grade II listing: Reservoir and enclosing iron railings, Royal William Victualling Yard
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Clarence Store Royal William Victualling Yard, Plymouth, City of Plymouth". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- ^ Historic England Grade I listing: Brewhouse, Royal William Victualling Yard
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Old Cooperage Royal William Victualling Yard, Plymouth, City of Plymouth". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- ^ Turner, Charlotte (29 March 2019). "Big changes underway for Royal William Yard". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Melville, Royal William Victualling Yard, Plymouth, City of Plymouth". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- ^ "Former navy yard hotel approved". 28 February 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Clock from the past".
- ^ "Plymouth's Royal William Yard to get 40 new flats by Urban Splash". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Telford, William (9 October 2018). "Royal William Yard - all its 72 businesses revealed". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Historic England Grade I listing: Mills and Bakery, Royal William Victualling Yard
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Main Gate, Royal William Victualling Yard, Plymouth, City of Plymouth". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- ^ a b Historic England Grade I listing: Slaughterhouse and attached Yard wall, Royal William Victualling Yard
- ^ Historic England. "House No 1 (Grade II*) (1378538)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 June 2014., Historic England. "House No 2 (Grade II*) (1378539)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ^ Rooms by Bistrot Pierre