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Devonport
Cannon Street and Cornwall Street
The Cannon Street and Cornwall Street area of Devonport was first
developed in the 1700s as housing for Dockyard workers. By 1765 the street plan had been
established. Cannon Street led to the Ordnance Yard; Cornwall Street led down to the River
Tamar where you could catch a boat to Cornwall.
This is a map of the area around 1892 showing the street layout:
And here is another, this time from about 1910:
As you can see, Cornwall Street leads down the hill from Queen Street,
Devonport to the edge of the River Tamar at North Corner. Cannon Street runs parallel with
Cornwall Street from the Tamar to King Street. The streets were sandwiched between the
Ordnance Department and Gun Wharf to the north, and the South Yard (to the south). The
extensions of Princes/Princess Street and Cannon Street on either side of Cornwall Street
don't appear to be official named.
Much of this area was damaged massively during the Second World War, and
the post-war rebuilding removed whole streets, changed layouts and renamed and re-routed
other streets. The present-day layout both on a map and on the ground doesn't give much
impression of its pre-WW2 state.
The whole Cannon Street and Cornwall Street area was cleared during the
late-1990s and rebuilding was eventually agreed in 2003.
Before the start of the rebuilding I went out and photographed the site
of Cannon Street and Cornwall Street.
Click on each thumbnail to see it full size - each is around 200Kb.
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Looking north along what used to be King Street |
Looking west down Cannon Street |
The corner of Cannon Street and former King Street - the
site of No 19? |
Looking west down Cannon Street. On the left is what
would have been the other corner with King Street |
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A slight more distant view of the corner of Cannon
Street and former King Street |
Looking west towards the Tamar and Cornwall over the
empty site |
The corner of Cannon Street and Queen Street. Was this
the site of a pub? |
Looking toward the Tamar, with the wall of the South
Yard on the left and that of the former Ordnance Yard on the right. |
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The wall of the South Yard |
The few remaining houses in Cannon Street - and street
sign |
Looking down Cannon Street. The sign on the wall reads
"This is a prohibited place within the meaning of the Official Secrets Act.
Unauthorised persons entering the area may be arrested and prosecuted" |
The wall of the former Ordnance Yard showing the special
method of contruction designed to resist explosions inside the Yard. |
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The remains of one of the back lanes connecting Cannon
and Cornwall Streets |
The same from another angle |
Another back lane. Note the cobbles - both streets are
finely cobbled |
Looking up Cornwall Street with the South Yard wall in
the background |
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The houses in Riverside Place at the bottom of Cannon
Street. The 1963 bridge connecting the Morice and South Yards is obstructing the view of
the river |
There are two pubs at Cornwall Beach, both very run
down. This is The Swan. |
And this one is the Steam Packet Inn |
Looking straight up Cornwall Street |
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The bridge connecting the two yards at North Corner |
The South Yard wall along the bottom of Princess Street |
The remains of railings in Princess Street. It was just
after this that a policewoman in a car asked me what I was doing. |
Looking down Princess Street to the Tamar |
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Marks indicating the railway tunnel which connected the
two yards |
The other mark |
One final view down Cornwall Street, with the Tamar and
Torpoint in the distance |
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© Chris Goddard, 27 November, 2004
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