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Plymouth Then & Now:
Plymouth - An Ever Evolving City
published November 2009
‘Everything changes,’ they say ... ‘nothing lasts forever’.
Quite what Plymouth City Centre
would have looked like had it not been for the Second World War, is anyone’s guess, but what
we see here is just how parts of that pre-war centre, relate to what we see there now - and
even that is changing. More than 20 post-war buildings in the heart of Plymouth, have already
been pulled down and it is not unreasonable to assume that more will follow.
In this, his third Plymouth Then & Now outing, historian Chris Robinson once again takes us on a
fascinating tour of the area. The Hoe, Barbican, City Centre, Stonehouse, Devonport and St Budeaux
are all featured, as are Lipson and Laira, Plympton and Plymstock.
The book is fascinating for the wealth of old photographs alone, but factor in the comparison
shots taken from the same vantage point -- twenty-five, fifty, hundred, hundred and fifty years
on (there is one very early shot of the Hoe here) -- then you end up with one of the most
absorbing pick and dip books on Plymouth you’ll ever find - apart from its two predecessors of course!
Chris Robinson has been writing about Plymouth for over 30 years and has written over 15 books on the
city, covering a wide variety aspects of it. Of all of them however, the Then & Now series have been
amongst the most popular, and that’s undoubtedly because everyone can relate to them.
Young people recognise the now pictures, older Plymothians can reminisce about what they remember of
how things used to be, while even those who know little or nothing of the city and its surroundings,
can appreciate the changes and play ‘spot the difference’ along with everyone else.
The books have even been popular with those who struggle to read simply because they understand the
Then & Now concept.
Simple and informative and, at times, wistful and sad, it’s a great formula -
seldom has local history been so easy to digest!
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